LGBallT: the Fandom-ization of Gender

submitted by spongebabthosepantsAlly from self.LGBDropTheT

https://www.reddit.com/r/lgballt/

I recommend checking out these comics.

I don't know the actual age of the people who are making these comics, my first thought was tweens-erly20's but ppl on the internet can be surprising. And from my experience as a (former) child on the internet and working with kids, I sure as hell see the potential AUDIENCE of these comics . Kids love comics. Kids love figuring out themselves.

Notice how the sub header puts the Trans ball front and center, along with nonbinary (and agender or some other tq+) Neopronouns and gender questioning (even crises), and eggs cracking are common themes of the comics. There are also a couple comics where various tq balls are shown seeking gender advice from the trans ball, who is treated as gender counselor https://www.reddit.com/r/lgballt/comments/j9sh9v/me_post_monday_we_both_know_im_just_cis_5_images/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

There is way more

Note: I'm a straight female ally who's been lurking lgbdroptthet and gc for months since back on reddit :P im most likely not going to be active at all (b/c of life) but I finally got wound up enough at the absolute absurdity if this particular reddit community that I decided to make an account.

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[–]Lesbianese⚢ 23 insightful - 1 fun23 insightful - 0 fun24 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

This is why many people refer to them as "the gender fandom" because they act the same way fans did online 10+ years ago, except somehow even more obnoxious. You could replace so many of these with Hogwarts houses or MBTI personality types and they'd work just fine. It's all just so shallow.

I agree that these comics would appeal to children, they're very reminiscent of Puffles from Club Penguin and kids loved those when I was growing up.

[–]spongebabthosepantsAlly[S] 12 insightful - 1 fun12 insightful - 0 fun13 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

The customization of the balls (a lot of the posters draw their own with like 4+ flags fit on them) also seems like it would be appealing for kids too

[–]diapason 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

lol I don't even wanna imagine what sorts of "identities" they collect to have four or more flags on one of their polandball knock-offs

[–]spongebabthosepantsAlly[S] 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

🙂 https://www.reddit.com/r/lgballt/comments/j5nrfq/evolution_of_my_identity_me_post_monday/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

[–]diapason 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I just… what?! Nothing in that post makes any sense SMH, how on earth can they be claiming to be a gay man and "aro ace", and FtM but also "neurogender"(and who wants to bet they're self-diagnosed lol), "dragongender", "catgender", "arcadegender", and "icecreamgender", tf? ?????

[–]reluctant_commenter 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Jesus christ. These kids need hobbies. And parental support.

Also, my disorder is not a sexuality, thanks. "Neurosexual" How, exactly, are people supposed to take LGB rights seriously when r/lgbt and this fandom group r/lgballt are unironically endorsing things like "icecreamgender"?

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I have a sinking feeling this kid is into yaoi.

[–]fuck_reddit 19 insightful - 1 fun19 insightful - 0 fun20 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

"I love how we represent being in the closet with a mask and realizing as [it] cracking" (emphasis mine). Um, idk about you guys but I was "in the closet" because I knew I was gay and was hiding it from others. Being "in the closet" does not mean you are ignorant of yourself. That to me right there shows how different they are. They are "in the closet" until they "realize" they're trans or NB, then they just "come out" and announce how special they are. What it really means is they realized how to get attention one day...

[–]spongebabthosepantsAlly[S] 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Haha there they go redefining words again 🙄

[–]yousaythosethingsFind and Replace "gatekeeping" with "having boundaries" 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Agreed. I have a bit of a nuanced take on being closeted based on my own personal experience where I think of “deep closeted” as being aware of my same-sex attraction and being generally aware that I was not attracted to the opposite sex, but unwilling to internalize it and accept it for what it obviously is. It’s active denial more than ignorance or unawareness. And then “closeted” to refer to after having the “come to Jesus” moment of accepting this is what I am but not openly sharing that or being very restrictive about who I share it with including what spaces or groups of people (“semi-closeted”). It’s clear that they never have to think about or do think about the consequences of coming out in various circumstances where we are going to be painfully aware of it.

[–]fuck_reddit 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep. This is exactly how I conceive of the various stages of coming out. There's a vast difference between being conscious and in deep denial and being completely unaware. Being completely unaware has very little affect compared to repressing something which requires effort and creates great suffering.

[–]reluctant_commenter 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Um, idk about you guys but I was "in the closet" because I knew I was gay and was hiding it from others. Being "in the closet" does not mean you are ignorant of yourself.

Yeah, exactly!!! How can you be hiding a piece of information from others if you don't know that information yet, yourself? I started being in the closet when I first realized I was attracted to women, not when I was born.

[–]fuck_reddit 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Exactly. I wasn't "in the closet" before the age of 13 because I didn't know I was gay! I was in the closet from the age of thirteen until relatively recently when I fully came out and became comfortable with the default being people knowing I'm gay. My mask didn't "crack" because it never shattered my perception of myself. When I realized, I was too young to have a set conception of myself.

[–]ThiccDropkickGay 12 insightful - 3 fun12 insightful - 2 fun13 insightful - 3 fun -  (8 children)

If anyone wants a laugh just check out those gender quizzes someone posted in the comments. Apparently I need a new gender created for me (agender) because I don't give a shit about any of it.

[–]spongebabthosepantsAlly[S] 14 insightful - 1 fun14 insightful - 0 fun15 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

I love how they're definition if agender is so SO close to rejecting gender ideology completely... but that in itself is a gender to them I guess. I've even seen on Twitter spats with TRAs when a person explains "no I don't have a gender identity, I don't believe in gender" and the TRAs fire back "oh so you DO have a gender identity you are agender 😌😌😌"

[–]ThiccDropkickGay 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

It's an interesting insight into how these people see gender. They seem to think if you're not a man unless you spend every day reaffirming your masculinity and reminding yourself that you're a man and get super upset when people misgender you. I'm sure my apathy to being misgendered is what earned me 'agender' in the quiz.

[–]fuck_reddit 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What an exhausting life. Can't a man enjoy working out and cooking good food? Can't a woman do the same? Why would either be any more or any less of a man/woman?

[–]ChodeSandwichtender and moist 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

They're allowed to dictate other people's identites and language choice, but we're not allowed to do it back because something something oppression.

[–]diapason 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I've even seen on Twitter spats with TRAs when a person explains "no I don't have a gender identity, I don't believe in gender" and the TRAs fire back "oh so you DO have a gender identity you are agender 😌😌😌"

I think they're drawing parallels that don't work when they say stuff like that. I remember a few years ago there were one or two exchanges I saw online between deeply repressed homophobic religious people who said stuff like "everyone's attracted to both sexes, you're just supposed to ignore your attraction to the same sex because it's sinful!!1!" and people who were countering that it's okay to be gay, where it was clear that the person was very much bisexual but very much in denial. (Obviously there are examples you can find too of gay people who are very religious and repressed, but they tend to not be so in denial in the same way, just self-hating)

So I think in those sorts of TRA exchanges, they're thinking of any opposition as bigotry and therefore when someone says that they don't have a "gender identity", they're seeing it as bigotry from someone who is so deep in denial that they don't realize not everyone is like them, even though they're right that most people don't have a gender identity

Either that or they can't handle opposition and need to fit people who don't fit their model into a box so their worldview makes sense

[–]Three_oneFourWanted for thought crimes in countless ideologies 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The only time that works is with philosophy. Hating philosophy IS itself a philosophy, but that doesn't work with anything else. Hating cars isn't a car preference, wearing pants isn't a dress preference. Thinking that gender identity politics is absolute bullshit isn't a gender identity

[–]LasagnaRossa 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Hahaha yes, those quizzes are gold

Apparently my gender is female (sic) because I'm empathetic and I have fashion sense lol

[–]Femaleisnthateful 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Those quizzes, LOL. I got agender/ girl/ genderfluid. No wonder these kids are so fucked up.

They are insightful for all the wrong reasons. They made me realize that these kids are are obsessed with 'gender' yet simultaneously obsessed with transcending or invalidating it. It's such a mindfuck, and I wish gender idealogues who are pushing this stuff as 'progressive' would realize how warped and harmful it all is.

[–]OPPRESSED_REPTILIANIntersex male | GNC | Don't call me "a gay", "twink" or "queen" 12 insightful - 2 fun12 insightful - 1 fun13 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

This one https://www.reddit.com/r/lgballt/comments/jdkjgm/had_to_fix_this_because_the_first_version_had/ pissed me off. I've literally never heard of an intersex person who identifies as an "enby" let alone one who identified as something as stupid as "voidpunk."

It's funny because it used to be said that intersex males like me had low IQs and were considered more or less clinically retarded. Not sure if that's still a claim or has any backing in reality. But from what I've seen all intersex people I've met seem to be way smarter than your average gender clown. Hell I probably have a tiny IQ, at least academically, but at least I'm still intelligent enough to see that this is bullshit.

[–]spongebabthosepantsAlly[S] 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Might have to do with intersex being grounded in a measurable biological reality instead of much of this gender woo

[–]reluctant_commenter 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Welcome! Thanks for linking this nonsense. I had heard of this sub but hadn't looked into it. This is pretty crazy, the stories they tell each other. This, for example, is literally them describing social contagion: https://www.reddit.com/r/lgballt/comments/jemy5k/when_youre_too_young_to_know_about_gay_people_how/

You know, reading this^ it suddenly strikes me.. Does anyone else think this "egg" idea sounds like born-again Christian ideas? Like, "I wasn't really living my true self BEFORE, but now I am"?

Wonder if there's some research on this overall pattern, it's fascinating that kids have replicated it with gender ideology.

[–]GoValidateYourselfuseful lesbian 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I've thought this before too. TRA ideology is so much like fundamentalist Christianity. They claim to be counterculture and enlightened, but they've replicated the ideology they claim to be running from XD

[–]diapason 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

"defined by their person and not their gender"

51% of us have been wanting this our whole lives… 😶

[–]Femaleisnthateful 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Auughh! Send it to hell!