and-classics

You are an ally. Or, well, you should be.

aimmyarrowshigh:

deargodfandom:

So you’re in the One Direction fandom, and somewhere along the way you’ve started actively shipping some combination of the boys. Maybe it’s Larry Stylinson. Maybe it’s Ziall. Maybe it’s an angsty adventure in Liam/spoons.

Whatever your pairing/s of choice may be, the moment you start publicly shipping them is the moment you are even more responsible for your attitude toward the LGBTQ* community than you were in the first place, and that’s a considerable amount of responsibility.

See, despite the fact that the days of AIDS being called “the gay cancer” while the gay community wasn’t being helped much and the days of Stonewall riots are long behind us and we’re in an age of increased LGBTQ* activism and awareness, the entire community is still widely oppressed and stigmatized.

When you’re consistently blogging about gay couples on a public forum, you’re representing some facet of that community. It doesn’t matter if you’re straight and cis as the day is long. People will see your words and relate them directly to the community.

While many slashers are hesitant to take on this responsibility, it should be noted that 1) it shouldn’t be a responsibility so much as automatic, common courtesy and human decency and 2) you are appropriating the LGBTQ* community for your own enjoyment and are therefore 3) you are expected to at least be aware of the basics.

It won’t take much. I mean, yeah, it can be difficult sometimes— you’ll be changing the way you think, the way you see the world, and the way you interact with the shipping community and your ship/s of choice— but it’s also vital and much less difficult than you’re making it for LGBTQ* Directioners and the image/progress of the community at large.

So here’s what you have to do, allies/shippers/Directioners:

• Educate yourself. Research what it means to be an ally. Read up on LGBTQ* history. Become familiar with terms. Think lots and lots. This blog is going to consist mostly of commentary in re: issues with this within the 1D fandom, so a lot of this stuff will be addressed on here in relatable terms. I’ll also be linking to resources and further reading. I hope it helps.
• Actively change. Take your newfound knowledge and apply it to yourself. There’s a chance that at least some of the things you do as a shipper are problematic, homphobic, offensive, or otherwise detrimental, and that needs to change. This doesn’t make you homophobic or offensive or a bad person, because we’re all part of this society and we’re all subject to the conditioning it’s pushed upon us. It just means that change is necessary and, yeah, you might have to stop using a few words/terms and thinking more about the implications of what you say. It’s worth it. Trust me.
• Spread the word. Educate others. Speak up. Lead by example.

Let’s hope that this is where change begins.

Perfect post, really.

Tagged: A+ Postpsaone direction

Source: deargodfandom

wynonas:

Seriously though, Harry, whether you identify as bisexual or pansexual or homosexual or absolutely any kind of sexual orientation or position on or off the Kinsey scale, or are even a completely heterosexual man who just does not give a flying fuck about abiding to heteronormative standards, the fact that you are such a hugely prominent person in media all over the world right now, in a demographic full of erasure of anything outside of the heteronormative, and still simply are who you are so utterly unashamedly is the best thing, and gives me so much hope, and I love you so much for it.

Tagged: he's my favouritefor a reason

Source: wynonas