Thank you so much for the breakdown. I feel genuinely educated about something new and fascinating.
The concept of intentional exclusion sounds parallel to my experience as a metal head since childhood. There are times when we are the flavor of the day and others where we are being literally chased out of town (good times touring Utah with a band called fuck god in the face immediately after September 11, lol). But it is always a community that welcomes with a bit of gatekeeping. Sometimes a precious thing needs to be polished with a sneer.
The perspective on allyship is also interesting. I am never quite sure where to state my stance without appearing cloy or pandering. There’s an easy line between honesty and rainbow capitalism but it blurs a bit when you’re an individual who empathetically wants everyone to be able, safe and comfortable being the version of themselves they feel inside. Again, I think there’s another parallel between our communities.
The point on humor/irony or “evil” as you framed it is fun as well. In my simple understanding it’s akin to a statement of empowerment much the same as being a bad bitch. Love it. Be the Dr Evil you want to see in the world. Cpt Hammers be damned. (Not that a villain needs permission). I hope one day the status quo catches up to your virtue and you are all able to find new paths of decadent evil to engage in.
Cheers to that community. I will admire from afar and keep my mouth shut about it. Lest I spoil the delicious villainy for my own hetero purposes. But I will still perform in a mask and cape on stage at a crummy metal venue and raise a mental toast in our shared existence.
Solidarity is a bit ironic given the topic. Exclusion sounds a lot like an anti-racist saying, “communities must stay segregated”. It’s giving me weird separate-but-equal vibes even after your explanation, and “separate but equal” is still a terrible policy.
There’s nothing ironic about queer outcasts sharing a bond of unity and common cause with non-queer outcasts without giving up their identity as queer folks.
The venn diagram of Metalheads and Queer Villains is neither a circle nor entirely separate. Indeed, some of my favorite queer villains are also metalheads, punks, and/or transgressive rockers.
There is intersectionality here, and your feeling of “separate but equal” about it is merely a product of a society that abhors the complexity and ambiguity that allows us space to thrive.
People can be more than one thing, we all contain multitudes.
People can also appreciate the uniqueness of a group of folks without themselves being of their number. I, for example, am not a metalhead because I have only tangential interest in the genre, but I have much respect for the way the Metal community makes an effort to reject Nazis and other fascists that try to weasel their in among their number.
You seem to have a more nuanced take than the icon guide provides room for. No one in their right mind is going to complain about having legitimate safe spaces to grow, but it is by very definition segregation to grow public communities with engrained exclusion.
That’s an extreme take that I honestly can’t take seriously, communities are defined by either geographic boundaries or some property that their members hold in common.
You wouldn’t say that it’s exclusionary to recognize that a short person isn’t tall or that a New Yorker isn’t a Texan. That’s just nonsense.
The point on humor/irony or “evil” as you framed it is fun as well. In my simple understanding it’s akin to a statement of empowerment much the same as being a bad bitch. Love it. Be the Dr Evil you want to see in the world. Cpt Hammers be damned. (Not that a villain needs permission). I hope one day the status quo catches up to your virtue and you are all able to find new paths of decadent evil to engage in.
Honestly, I had to come back and respond on the last bit of this specifically, because your well-wishing really hits at the heart of my personal feelings on the matter:
As a person-of-villainous-character, the ultimate apotheosis I seek is to not be merely defeated, but vanquished utterly by the absolution of obsolecence.
As long as queer folks are othered, we will always be villainized and in so doing the queer villain identity will be perpetuated. Those who imagine themselves heroes for opposing the existence or dignity of LGBTQIA+ people cannot reject us in any meaningful sense, for queer people exist regardless and it is their opposition that makes us villains.
So, let us take pride in their scorn and wear their shame as a badge of honor until the day that there is no more scorn and shame to be found.
Thank you so much for the breakdown. I feel genuinely educated about something new and fascinating.
The concept of intentional exclusion sounds parallel to my experience as a metal head since childhood. There are times when we are the flavor of the day and others where we are being literally chased out of town (good times touring Utah with a band called fuck god in the face immediately after September 11, lol). But it is always a community that welcomes with a bit of gatekeeping. Sometimes a precious thing needs to be polished with a sneer.
The perspective on allyship is also interesting. I am never quite sure where to state my stance without appearing cloy or pandering. There’s an easy line between honesty and rainbow capitalism but it blurs a bit when you’re an individual who empathetically wants everyone to be able, safe and comfortable being the version of themselves they feel inside. Again, I think there’s another parallel between our communities.
The point on humor/irony or “evil” as you framed it is fun as well. In my simple understanding it’s akin to a statement of empowerment much the same as being a bad bitch. Love it. Be the Dr Evil you want to see in the world. Cpt Hammers be damned. (Not that a villain needs permission). I hope one day the status quo catches up to your virtue and you are all able to find new paths of decadent evil to engage in.
Cheers to that community. I will admire from afar and keep my mouth shut about it. Lest I spoil the delicious villainy for my own hetero purposes. But I will still perform in a mask and cape on stage at a crummy metal venue and raise a mental toast in our shared existence.
Have a fantastic day my friend!
Solidarity, my friend! I’m always happy to share with open minds such as yours!
Solidarity is a bit ironic given the topic. Exclusion sounds a lot like an anti-racist saying, “communities must stay segregated”. It’s giving me weird separate-but-equal vibes even after your explanation, and “separate but equal” is still a terrible policy.
There’s nothing ironic about queer outcasts sharing a bond of unity and common cause with non-queer outcasts without giving up their identity as queer folks.
The venn diagram of Metalheads and Queer Villains is neither a circle nor entirely separate. Indeed, some of my favorite queer villains are also metalheads, punks, and/or transgressive rockers.
There is intersectionality here, and your feeling of “separate but equal” about it is merely a product of a society that abhors the complexity and ambiguity that allows us space to thrive.
People can be more than one thing, we all contain multitudes.
People can also appreciate the uniqueness of a group of folks without themselves being of their number. I, for example, am not a metalhead because I have only tangential interest in the genre, but I have much respect for the way the Metal community makes an effort to reject Nazis and other fascists that try to weasel their in among their number.
You seem to have a more nuanced take than the icon guide provides room for. No one in their right mind is going to complain about having legitimate safe spaces to grow, but it is by very definition segregation to grow public communities with engrained exclusion.
That’s an extreme take that I honestly can’t take seriously, communities are defined by either geographic boundaries or some property that their members hold in common.
You wouldn’t say that it’s exclusionary to recognize that a short person isn’t tall or that a New Yorker isn’t a Texan. That’s just nonsense.
Honestly, I had to come back and respond on the last bit of this specifically, because your well-wishing really hits at the heart of my personal feelings on the matter:
As a person-of-villainous-character, the ultimate apotheosis I seek is to not be merely defeated, but vanquished utterly by the absolution of obsolecence.
As long as queer folks are othered, we will always be villainized and in so doing the queer villain identity will be perpetuated. Those who imagine themselves heroes for opposing the existence or dignity of LGBTQIA+ people cannot reject us in any meaningful sense, for queer people exist regardless and it is their opposition that makes us villains.
So, let us take pride in their scorn and wear their shame as a badge of honor until the day that there is no more scorn and shame to be found.
Had to come back and share a comic that hit me pretty hard recently:
https://www.tumblr.com/welldrawnfish/746506639642951681/to-be-trans-is-to-change-for-the-better