#q ray

1. these people probably grew up, like most of us, with a narrow concept of binary genders where there was little room to explore, so of course anything outside of that box feels like a step towards a different type of expression, and using those labels is how they connect with their community and understand gender expression in more tangible ways.

2. gender is such a fluid, confusing, subjective thing and everyone’s idea of it is slightly different, especially in queer spaces. if anything, the fact that so many fictional characters are collecting different labels is proof that gender is an abstract, ever-changing construct, and until a character tells us how they identify, all we can do is project our own ideologies onto them. that’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make them wrong, because you can’t *be* wrong about fictional people. you get to keep them and mould them. is sevika butch? that depends on your knowledge of butches. is abby anderson masc, or is she just muscular? if you’ve never seen a muscular woman before, of course you’re going to associate her with masculinity because that’s how society has influenced us to think. guess what? there is no clear answer. they can be whatever you want them to be!

be nicer to queer people who are still learning. there are kinder ways to say that you disagree with their interpretation of a character. we’re all just trying to find a place in a community that honours diversity and the breaking away from traditional constructs. queer people deserve to experience that without fear of being called out or shamed.