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Hey 17th Shard! 

 

As you may know, this month is pride month! I did this thread last year, and I got a suggestion (*cough* @AonEne *cough*) to do it again! I am an Ally, which means I am straight but I support this crazy idea called equal rights. Love is love. I would like to hear your stories about coming out, supporting others or just positive messages! 
 

While I am an Ally, I am still trying to figure out if I am asexual or not. But I feel like I can’t judge something that I haven’t experienced yet. I’m not saying that you can’t determine what and who you are at a young age, this is just my personal opinion. If you’re younger and you know you’re asexual, that is great! Be proud of it! Be you! Again, this is just me and my opinions. Don’t take offense! 

Edited by BringerofShadows
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2 hours ago, BringerofShadows said:

I did this thread last year, and I got a suggestion (*cough* @AonEne *cough*) to do it again! 

:ph34r: 

Happy Pride Month! I’m Ene and I’m panromantic asexual. It took me a confusing while to get here - at first I was a homophobic straight person, then an ally, then “oh crap I like someone who’s gender fluid what does this meeeeeeean”, then “oh my goodness asexuality is a thing? Where have you been my entire life” while figuring out my romantic orientation. I am beyond happy to know what I am, and everything about being ace feels very right, from the culture to the flag colors to all the puns I can make now. 

I want to help other people feel that same rightness and joy, and that’s why pride is such a great thing. Yay for normalizing this stuff! Yay for letting people talk about it and experiment (wow I just failed to spell that like three times) with what they call themselves, their sexuality, and their gender! 

I also just want to say, for anyone else who might be religious and scared that God hates you...He doesn’t. He will never hate his children. He wants the best for them; for them to find eternal companionship and feel right in their own skin, to be called the name they want and marry who they love. I choose to believe that, because I know He loves me, and that He loves all of you too. 

Yeeeeeeeeee *stereotypically eats cake* 

Edit: also guys, it’s all cool to change your pfp for pride, but don’t make it a flashing rainbow gif because they can cause seizures or hurt peoples’ eyes. 

Edited by AonEne
Missed capitalizing a He, of course
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Woooooo! Happy Pride Month! No matter what you identify as, or if you’re still trying to figure it out, know that you’re valid. Whether you’ve come out, or if you’re still in the closet, you’re valid. 

I used to be a straight Ally, until I realised I was asexual, which wasn’t as simple as I would’ve thought. It was a lot of “hmm... maybe I am, but I’m not sure”. But now that I’m here, it feels right

So, to anyone feeling a bit unsure, it’s okay to not know. It feels good to finally know what you are, and then be able to label it as something, but there’s absolutely no rush. 

Happy Pride Month everyone!

2 hours ago, AonEne said:

all the puns I can make now. 

Ace puns are the best puns

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5 hours ago, BringerofShadows said:

While I am an Ally, I am still trying to figure out if I am asexual or not. But I feel like I can’t judge something that I haven’t experienced yet. 

That’s totally fair! I wish you luck in figuring out which you are, either way ^_^ 

10 minutes ago, The Awakened Salad said:

Ace puns are the best puns 

The most ace of puns 

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As long as we're identifying ourselves: I guess I'm a lesbian, although I've never really thought about labels. Also, I think it's really cool that there are threads like this one.

I wanted to take a minute to talk LGBTQ+ representation in books, since this is a readers' forum: it's crappy and we have a long way to go. And I think it's a little sad that I consider Brandon's books better than most when, as of now, I believe he's got one gay character and one lesbian, and that's it. There are only two, and both are quaternary characters at best.

I definitely blame Brandon, but I also blame the market. Why haven't agents, publishers, and authors started to include people of different sexual orientation and gender identity?

Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever read a book with even a minor character who's transgender (or non-conforming, gender fluid, etc.).

I think we need lots of new authors writing LGBTQ+ characters in addition to older authors to starting to include them. People like Brandon have a lot of influence in fantasy, and without them making the first steps, change will be very, very slow.

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35 minutes ago, PiedPeterPiper said:

As long as we're identifying ourselves: I guess I'm a lesbian, although I've never really thought about labels. Also, I think it's really cool that there are threads like this one.

I wanted to take a minute to talk LGBTQ+ representation in books, since this is a readers' forum: it's crappy and we have a long way to go. And I think it's a little sad that I consider Brandon's books better than most when, as of now, I believe he's got one gay character and one lesbian, and that's it. There are only two, and both are quaternary characters at best.

I definitely blame Brandon, but I also blame the market. Why haven't agents, publishers, and authors started to include people of different sexual orientation and gender identity?

Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever read a book with even a minor character who's transgender (or non-conforming, gender fluid, etc.).

I think we need lots of new authors writing LGBTQ+ characters in addition to older authors to starting to include them. People like Brandon have a lot of influence in fantasy, and without them making the first steps, change will be very, very slow.

I was reading this topic and just wanted to suggest this book to you. Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone has its main protagonist who is transgender and used magic to transition. Maybe check it out? :) 

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Just now, Chaos said:

I was reading this topic and just wanted to suggest this book to you. Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone has its main protagonist who is transgender and used magic to transition. Maybe check it out? :) 

Thanks for the suggestion -- that sounds like it'd be a really interesting magic system! I'll definitely look into it.^_^

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5 hours ago, PiedPeterPiper said:

I wanted to take a minute to talk LGBTQ+ representation in books, since this is a readers' forum: it's crappy and we have a long way to go.

Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever read a book with even a minor character who's transgender (or non-conforming, gender fluid, etc.).

I completely agree with everything you’re saying here. You might enjoy reading the Gay Male Protagonist thread here on the forums, it goes into this topic more ^_^ 

I’d also like to make some recommendations: Dreadnought by April Daniels, and the sequel Sovereign. The main character is also trans and accidentally magically transitions. They’re pretty good, especially the sequel, which dismissed some of my worries from the first book and included a nonbinary character. Not Brandon-quality fantasy, but enjoyable. There’re also a bunch of coming-out type realistic fiction stories with trans and nonbinary protagonists. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin is really good imo, with a gender fluid protag. 

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I'm nonbinary, panromantic, pansexual, demisexual, and polyamorous, and I guess just saying that tells me why I'm so heavily communication focused personally lol.

I have just noted all these book recommendations, they'll make me happy, thanks guys. :)

That spreadsheet is a bit intimidating. As in I haven't looked at it but me and NVDA are going to have a conversation about it, that's for sure...

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On 6/3/2020 at 5:26 PM, PiedPeterPiper said:

As long as we're identifying ourselves: I guess I'm a lesbian, although I've never really thought about labels. Also, I think it's really cool that there are threads like this one.

I wanted to take a minute to talk LGBTQ+ representation in books, since this is a readers' forum: it's crappy and we have a long way to go. And I think it's a little sad that I consider Brandon's books better than most when, as of now, I believe he's got one gay character and one lesbian, and that's it. There are only two, and both are quaternary characters at best.

I definitely blame Brandon, but I also blame the market. Why haven't agents, publishers, and authors started to include people of different sexual orientation and gender identity?

Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever read a book with even a minor character who's transgender (or non-conforming, gender fluid, etc.).

I think we need lots of new authors writing LGBTQ+ characters in addition to older authors to starting to include them. People like Brandon have a lot of influence in fantasy, and without them making the first steps, change will be very, very slow.

I believe the juvenile/YA author Rick Riordan wrote a Genderfluid character in his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

 The orientation was represented absolutely terribly, however, so I try to ignore that the book even exists. The character is poorly written, verbally and physically abusive, and just a general jerk yet everyone bends to their will and no matter what none of the characters ever stand up for themselves against them. I can testify that those Genderfluid people I have met have been decent humans - relatively kind, pleasant, and not at all abusive - and feel that Riordan had an excellent chance to make a cool and interesting character and just threw it away.

Edited by Elend Venture
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Happy Pride Month, everyone! I’m straight and cis, but 100% an ally. Love is love, and just seeing other people happy makes me happy. I think it’s so incredibly bigoted and stupid to see other people spread hate, especially when supporting one another makes the world a better place. Make other people feel loved, because at the core, we’re all human beings. :wub:

If you’re looking for queer characters in fantasy books, here are a few suggestions... 

The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima. It’s preceded by The Shattered Realms series, which does not have much LGBTQ+ representation (as far as I can remember), but there’s a prominent queer relationship in the second series. 

The Shades of Magic series, by V.E. Schwab. There’s a queer relationship between two main characters with a great plot and conflict. Also, the whole premise is just super compelling, so it keeps you hooked the entire time. 

Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. It’s the queer-and-improved Harry Potter, and I adore it with my entire being. The magic system is incredible and unique, so definitely give this one a try!

The Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo. At least three out of the six main characters are queer, and there’s lots of queer representation in the whole universe of books, called the Grishaverse. In addition, there are multiple (both implied and canon) female/female relationships. Some of my friends have told me that they find lesbians to be underrepresented in fantasy books, which I’ve found to be true, so I’m glad that Bardugo writes about them.  

This isn’t completely fantasy, but The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is an incredible book that never fails to make me emotionally break down. It’s a retelling of the Iliad from the viewpoint of Patroclus, who is popularly thought to have been Achilles’s lover. 10/10, completely recommend... I’ve reread it hundreds of times. 

I also have plenty of suggestions that aren’t fantasy novels, so just PM me or something if you want to take a break from magic and worldbuilding for a while! 

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4 hours ago, Ashspren said:

Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. It’s the queer-and-improved Harry Potter, and I adore it with my entire being. The magic system is incredible and unique, so definitely give this one a try! 

AKFJKFNSNFE&NSFJKKJN Ash you’ve read Carry On! 

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Firstly, I'm male, straight, Christian, all the things, and do not support the legality of same-sex marriage for very religious reasons I'd rather not get into here. 

That said, I do not consider myself homophobic. I do not hate LGBTQ+, and I hate the hate they get from other Christians. It is not Christian to hate, but I am very aware that it happens. Way too often. If you're reading this and one of those people, know that Jesus Christ himself didn't even hate on the prostitutes, the greedy tax collectors, etc. He loved them and hung out with them. Not exactly what I'm seeing in a good portion of the Christian community.

The reason I bring myself up like this is because I want to let you all on here that you are loved, and I wish more Christians could love as well. As a deep theologian of the Christian faith, I would say that many Christians who actively hate on LGBTQ+ in such ways as they do are on their way to hell.

In other words, I apologize for these people. I love you guys.

I hope I didn't offend anyone in writing this.

PS: Thought I haven't read much anything thus far, per the aforementioned lack of fantasy books, I believe I would quite enjoy a gay protagonist as much as I would enjoy any other character.


Please don't kill me.

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Ok, so I wanted to say something here, even though, I’m too young to say who I really am. Right now I know I’m an ally since 4th grade, though I never realized that there is that much LGBT people in the world. That makes me a little bit scared, because realizing that I’m one of them, would be really hard here, where I live. Not long ago I my mum gave me an article, where a child in my age committed suicide, because they realized that they are transsexual and there was a lot of bullying at school for them.

That makes that I really admire all of you, that you were brave enough to write all those posts, like it wouldn’t matter at all.

(I also hope, that my comment won’t be taken as not nice, because I REALLY ADMIRE all of you. And also I’m a Christian too, so not all of them hate LGBT)

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9 hours ago, AonEne said:

AKFJKFNSNFE&NSFJKKJN Ash you’ve read Carry On! 

WHAT ENE WHAT YOU’VE READ IT?! I can’t believe we haven’t talked about this yet!

4 hours ago, The_Elsecaller said:

I just started Carry On and its honestly awesome.

It’s incredible, and I had sooo much fun reading it! PM or @ mention me when you’re done, and I’d love to talk about it.

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10 hours ago, Emi said:

That makes that I really admire all of you, that you were brave enough to write all those posts, like it wouldn’t matter at all. 

If someone started bullying me at school, they would very quickly regret it. I haven’t been physically bullied in ages; if someone tried to start a fight with me, well, I’m small but I’m not harmless. :ph34r: I wish I could be there for you if you got bullied, or anyone else who does. It makes me sad that there’s violence in this world I can’t stop - and violence I couldn’t stop even if I was there. 

Ooooh, do we need to make a thread for everyone’s favorite gay Harry Potter done arguably better? There are at least three of us who are fans... 

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On 6/5/2020 at 9:07 PM, Elend Venture said:

I believe the juvenile/YA author Rick Riordan wrote a Genderfluid character in his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

Now that I think of it, I do remember Alex -- but I read Magnus Chase so long ago that I completely forgot about them.I stopped reading Rick Riordan' books a while ago, and although I mean no disrespect to the middle grade genre, at some point they just stopped interesting me. I also think Nico being gay was disappointing in execution, although I have seen better depiction of gay and lesbian characters, so it bothered me less.

By the way, @Chaos, I've read Full Fathom Five and thought it was very excellent. I'm continuing with the rest of the Craft Sequence now.

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6 hours ago, AonEne said:

If someone started bullying me at school, they would very quickly regret it. I haven’t been physically bullied in ages; if someone tried to start a fight with me, well, I’m small but I’m not harmless. :ph34r: I wish I could be there for you if you got bullied, or anyone else who does. It makes me sad that there’s violence in this world I can’t stop - and violence I couldn’t stop even if I was there.

Real life Spensa, :P

6 hours ago, AonEne said:

Ooooh, do we need to make a thread for everyone’s favorite gay Harry Potter done arguably better? There are at least three of us who are fans... 

Should we make a thread for it? I just finished it and was wondering where to share my views...

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18 hours ago, The_Elsecaller said:

Real life Spensa, :P

Should we make a thread for it? I just finished it and was wondering where to share my views...

Okay but honestly, you’re not wrong :P 

Yeah, we can see if there are any other fans. 

Edit: @The_Elsecaller I WAS JUST THINKING OF THAT PUN AHHHH amazing pfp :D 

Edited by AonEne
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Wow, lots of old names here on the thread! 

I still remember the Mark of Athena fondly because of Jason & Nico. It felt so warm.

Rainbow Rowell was good, other books of similar flavour are Will Walton's Anything Could Happen or TJ Klune's The Lightning Struck Heart, which is seriously funny. I also remember Will Grayson, Will Grayson fondly, the first gay book I'd purchased the hard copy of off the shelf, nerve wracking that was.

Ah! Leigh Bardugo! I remembered Ravka. Got Six of Crows 2 years ago (beautiful cover!) but turned out I'd outgrown her, like I had Riordan & Clare. You guys should check out her short stories though like The Too Clever Fox, they are quite atmospheric

I didn't really like Max Gladstone all that much. It's like he had a cool idea and I read an entire book gushing over how cool said idea was but there was no story in there.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic's character surprised me (series name Arcane Ascension). Give it a read, it will surprise you too. It's LitRPG which is considered a cheap genre on scene nowadays but this author is something else. The main character falls into multiple "other" identities, all of which are done surprisingly well.

Edited by R J
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Hi!

Im bisexual, technically non-binary, I sometimes identify as gender fluid, its more like "what the storm is gender and can this dysphoria please go away thanks". Wait I swear a lot these days. I guess Ill find out  in a minute if the swear filter still works.

So I know its not books but while we're talking about queer representation in media: SHE RA. THEYRE ALL GAY. Basically the showrunner has said previously that all her characters are queer unless confirmed otherwise. The show just finished and its one of my favourites ever and I love it so much.

On 02/06/2020 at 5:50 AM, AonEne said:

Happy Pride Month! I’m Ene and I’m panromantic asexual. It took me a confusing while to get here - at first I was a homophobic straight person, then an ally, then “oh crap I like someone who’s gender fluid what does this meeeeeeean”, then “oh my goodness asexuality is a thing? Where have you been my entire life” while figuring out my romantic orientation. I am beyond happy to know what I am, and everything about being ace feels very right, from the culture to the flag colors to all the puns I can make now. 

That is a queer mood. I went from homophobic/not knowing any better, to curious, to an ally, to holy crap could I be gay to holy crap what is my gender and now I'm a certified gay disaster! Fun times! :D

On 04/06/2020 at 9:26 AM, PiedPeterPiper said:

As long as we're identifying ourselves: I guess I'm a lesbian, although I've never really thought about labels. Also, I think it's really cool that there are threads like this one.

I wanted to take a minute to talk LGBTQ+ representation in books, since this is a readers' forum: it's crappy and we have a long way to go. And I think it's a little sad that I consider Brandon's books better than most when, as of now, I believe he's got one gay character and one lesbian, and that's it. There are only two, and both are quaternary characters at best.

I definitely blame Brandon, but I also blame the market. Why haven't agents, publishers, and authors started to include people of different sexual orientation and gender identity?

Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever read a book with even a minor character who's transgender (or non-conforming, gender fluid, etc.).

I think we need lots of new authors writing LGBTQ+ characters in addition to older authors to starting to include them. People like Brandon have a lot of influence in fantasy, and without them making the first steps, change will be very, very slow.

And often trans characters are non-human or....weird. Like Janet from the Good Place is not a girl, also not a human or a robot, she's like an AI? Theres a show on Netflix called Carole on Tuesday, really sweet, its set on Mars, so theres a trans woman who's kinda violent, who's trans because of the "martian atmosphere". And in season 2 theres a non-binary character who was iirc born a guy, the martian atmosphere made him/them (?) non-binary, and as they fully achieved non-binariness their life was complete and they died. There's a lot of weird rep out there.

And like in Starsight.....I dont know what the spoiler period is so STARSIGHT SPOILERS 

Spoiler

There were a bunch of non-binary aliens. Which was cool, but I would have loved if one of the random humans with one line introduced in the beginning were non-binary, just to show that its not an alien specific thing, its a human thing tooo. 

On 04/06/2020 at 10:03 AM, Chaos said:

I was reading this topic and just wanted to suggest this book to you. Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone has its main protagonist who is transgender and used magic to transition. Maybe check it out? :) 

Magic transition yes please!

On 06/06/2020 at 1:07 PM, Elend Venture said:

I believe the juvenile/YA author Rick Riordan wrote a Genderfluid character in his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

 The orientation was represented absolutely terribly, however, so I try to ignore that the book even exists. The character is poorly written, verbally and physically abusive, and just a general jerk yet everyone bends to their will and no matter what none of the characters ever stand up for themselves against them. I can testify that those Genderfluid people I have met have been decent humans - relatively kind, pleasant, and not at all abusive - and feel that Riordan had an excellent chance to make a cool and interesting character and just threw it away.

Huh, I've only heard good things about Magnus Chase before now. I haven't actually read the books though. 

On 07/06/2020 at 0:48 AM, Emi said:

Ok, so I wanted to say something here, even though, I’m too young to say who I really am. Right now I know I’m an ally since 4th grade, though I never realized that there is that much LGBT people in the world. That makes me a little bit scared, because realizing that I’m one of them, would be really hard here, where I live. Not long ago I my mum gave me an article, where a child in my age committed suicide, because they realized that they are transsexual and there was a lot of bullying at school for them.

That makes that I really admire all of you, that you were brave enough to write all those posts, like it wouldn’t matter at all.

(I also hope, that my comment won’t be taken as not nice, because I REALLY ADMIRE all of you. And also I’m a Christian too, so not all of them hate LGBT)

Hey. Life is definitely harder for queer folks, but it's ok. If you are one of us, that's nothing you can help and nothing you can change. Safety is always the most important thing, and if you needed to stay closeted to stay safe thats totally legit. When you get away from unaccepting and toxic environments, and you can really be yourself, its beautiful and liberating and so worth it. 
The trans suicide rate is high, because people are cremholes. That's why we gotta support each other. That's why allies are so important. Having one single accepting adult in their lives makes trans youth's suicide rate drop drastically. 
You gotta be careful, you gotta be safe, you can only be who you are. 

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