So.

onion not even doing satire at this point

As we strive to be more inclusive in theatre and specifically on Broadway, we also need to have the discussion on how much it is appropriate to but actors through. 

Stories about bigotry and the history of it are very important, and in a space like Broadway where you are performing the show over and over, for eight shows a week for a year or more, that can be incredibly taxing. And yes, they are professionals, and part of being professional is being able to hold up a healthy divide between performance and real life, but let me ask you this: If you were doing a show where you were playing a character who got called ugly all throughout the show, would you as the actor be able to go home every night feeling perfectly fine and not having taken those comments to heart? Probably not. And just being called ugly is of course no where near the same level as experiencing racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, etc.

One example of this is the taunting scene in West Side Story, (trigger warning for mentions of sexual assault) a show that is already about gang fighting between one with white members, the Jets, and one who’s members are from Puerto Rico, the Sharks. In the scene if you haven’t seen it, Anita, who is Latina, is pinned down and sexually harassed by members of the Jets. As you can imagine, it’s incredibly hard to watch. And if you are in the very large group of people who have survived sexual assault, especially a woman, ESPECIALLY a woman of color, it can be extremely triggering to see, let alone perform. In fact, Rita Moreno, who played Anita, found the scene incredibly hard to do, as it brought back her own memories of sexual assault. And that was in the movie. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to do eight nights a week in front of over a thousand people.

Clearly, good and accurate representation in theatre and all forms of art does not mean stories that are always about the oppression of whichever group you are trying to represent. It’s about finding that balance between those stories, which are important, and stories that show members of disenfranchised communities not having to face bigotry constantly. And while we work to find that balance, we must remember that just because the bigot is someone playing a character does not mean that the bigotry isn’t real to the person on the receiving end. 

Not the asshole, that mama was out of line.

I’m sorry. I just. I just love farting stepdad so much 😭 Like use what you have available to you.

Hot take but canes are not a limited resource. Most mobility aids aren’t but canes especially. Canes are $20 at a lot of stores like CVS, Walmart, etc. You aren’t taking that resource away from “real” disabled people (hint: you ARE a real disabled person) in fact buying more canes creates more demand and works to make more stores carry them for better prices. You aren’t faking being disabled or hurting disabled people, you’re working to make canes more accessible which is helping disabled people.

Get the cane.

dear netflix: fuck you sincerely, jatp stans

My favorite LGBTQIA+ TV moment!

My by far favorite lgbt moment on TV would have to be the Ruby and Sapphire wedding on Steven Universe! It was so precious and the entire episode was sooooo good!!!

Ok so I have developed a new obsession and my lizard brain has drawn a connection between 4 unrelated characters and this paired them together.

They’re all

Skinny

Tall

Related to the color blue

And have some trauma

And I redrew each of em

We’ve got

2D from Gorillaz

Edd from Ed, Edd, and Eddy

Huggy Wuggy from Poppy Playtime

And

Megamind from, well Megamind

The way my brain rationalized these was that they should each be from a Different form of media such as a band, cartoon, video game, or movie.

And now I present you my favorite work I’ve created of these boys so far

Since I love Gorillaz

Big shout out to the coalition of Catholic nuns who just told the US bishops to stop being transphobic.

“As members of the body of Christ, we cannot be whole without the full inclusion of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive individuals,” the letter reads. It goes on to argue that “we will remain oppressors until we — as vowed Catholic religious — acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ people in our own congregations. We seek to cultivate a faith community where all, especially our transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive siblings, experience a deep belonging.”

The letter also states transgender people are “experiencing harm and erasure” in various ways, listing daily discrimination, a groundswell of state-level legislation aimed at LGBTQ rights and “harmful rhetoric from some Christian institutions and their leaders, including the Catholic Church.”

Read about it here