Fun with Interpretation

[This post is for the 5th Carnival of Aces.]

I’m starting to realize, more and more, that people are infinitely capable of different interpretations of the same thing. Two people could look at the same sentence, the same action, the same facial expression, and get something completely different out of it. It all depends on where you’re coming from. Our experiences, our opinions, and our ideas shape the way we view the world – and the way we view media.

Take anime, for instance. The first full-length anime series I ever saw was Fruits Basket. I watched the show around the time I was twelve years old. It promptly became an obsession. I’ve seen all twenty-six more times than I can count, and I showed them to as many of my friends as I could (and got them obsessed too). After a couple years, though, our obsession waned and we all moved on. I hadn’t watched an episode of Furuba probably since I was fourteen.

This past June, however, I got together with several friends and we decided to watch it again.

[Keep in mind that I am only discussing the anime here, and ignoring any aspects of the manga that aren’t present in said anime.]

Aside from the awesome nostalgia this viewing inspired, I was amazed at how much a different perspective can change the way you look at media. When I was twelve, I was an avid Tohru/Yuki shipper. I thought they were the perfect couple, and I was convinced that the entire anime was subtly backing me up. When I was twelve, I also knew nothing about relationships other than the monogamous, romantic, and heterosexual. “Straight” people were the only ones with which I had any personal experience. Had I watched the anime for the first time at age sixteen instead, I probably would have shipped Yuki/Kyo (I went through a bit of a yaoi phase in high school).

I’ve learned a lot since I was twelve – and since I was sixteen, for that matter. I got involved with LGBT communities and received quite an education from books, movies, and friends. I discovered asexuality, and started to read all kinds of fascinating things about sexuality, orientations, and relationship models. With this new knowledge in hand, I guess it’s not surprising that I looked at Fruits Basket in a completely different light this time around. As I studied the relationship between Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo, it occurred to me how much they all grow together throughout the anime. I realized how much they (sometimes subconsciously) admire each other and depend on each other. It became steadily more obvious to me that the relationship between the three of them was the most influential, the most meaningful, in the show. Then, at some point during the penultimate episode, I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo were in some kind of queerplatonic non-sexual triad?”

It might sound a little farfetched to some people, but really, why not? If they matter that much to each other, and if it would make them happy, then what could be wrong with it? Of course, Yuki and Kyo would have to suck it up and admit that they both secretly respect each other, which probably wouldn’t ever happen. But the way I see it, the stronger-than-average friendship between Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo is much more powerful than any other “pairing” in the show. I might even go so far as to suggest it’s the driving force behind the anime. So, even if the writers and animators didn’t intend to portray such a relationship, what’s wrong with me interpreting it that way?

Furthermore, I also reexamined the relationship between Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame. Their friendship is clearly vital to them. Hatori had his doomed romance with Kana, and it’s possible to construe Aya and Mine’s relationship as romantic as well. But it’s obvious that those three men will always depend on each other, and will always come back to each other for companionship and support. I’d enjoyed their friendship (and antics) ever since I started watching the anime, but it was new and intriguing to consider just how powerful that friendship could be for them – and likely is.

Since I myself am particularly desirous of deep, meaningful friendship, it was really special to look at this anime and find it in the kind of relationships I might be interested in having. It gave an old favorite a fresh and stronger significance for me.

One last note before I end this: I am in no way trying to say that everyone on the asexual continuum should content themselves with trying to see “non-traditional” relationships wherever there is ambiguity in existing media. I believe that media representation is extremely important. We need media to show us people we can relate to, without ambiguity and without interpretation. We should be able to read books, watch movies, and listen to music that accurately represents the variety – and value – of us. Also, people who aren’t a part of the ace continuum need to know that we exist, and a very good way to accomplish that would be through media.

Experimenting with Self-Love

On Sunday I went with a couple friends to a Mary Kay party. I wasn’t particularly interested or excited to go, but I wanted to make sure one of my friends didn’t have to go alone. There ended up being three of us, so I needn’t have worried. We met with a consultant and were taken through the process of washing our faces and applying simple makeup. And we bought stuff, of course.

Despite my low expectations, it turned out to be rather enjoyable. I’d had a rotten morning, which had included getting splashed to the point of dripping while I waited for the bus. I got splashed because it had rained the night before, and when it rains, my bus stop floods and turns the road into a mini-lake. Usually drivers are friendly and will swerve into the turn lane to avoid splashing you; on Sunday, I think they were feeling especially spiteful. Anyway, after spending the morning feeling muddy and furious, it was nice to be able to clean off and make myself feel “pretty.”

At one point during the session, the Mary Kay consultant asked us what kinds of make-up and face-care products we use. For simplicity, let’s call our consultant Mary. My friends all told Mary what kind of make-up they wear (truthfully, they don’t wear a whole lot). I told Mary that I’ve recently stopped wearing make-up. When she asked me why, I said that I want to be able to love myself as I am. I explained that I don’t want to depend on make-up to make me feel attractive; I want to embrace myself and feel comfortable being me.

Mary didn’t say much to me at the time, and we simply moved on with our make-overs. I figured she didn’t really approve of my explanation; after all, her job is to sell beauty products. But I met Mary again today to pick up some face-wash I ordered. She had another consultant with her (let’s call this one Kay). When I arrived, Mary promptly said, “Emily, you have to tell Kay what you told me Sunday about why you don’t wear make-up!” Somewhat bemused, I explained again. Mary smiled the whole time, and once I had finished, she said to Kay, “Isn’t that amazing? She’s only nineteen, and she’s focusing on loving herself! Usually girls tell me they don’t wear make-up because they’re too busy or lazy, but she’s doing it out of self-love!”

It was actually kind of sweet to see how impressed Mary was by my choice, and it definitely made me feel better about what I’m doing. I’ve always had problems with self-esteem – enough, in fact, that they probably warrant their own separate post. When I was in high school, I dyed my hair constantly and wore a ton of make-up because it made me feel prettier. But I started growing out my hair about eighteen months ago (I’ve got a lot of natural color back now), and I stopped wearing make-up this past May. After a lot of thought, I had realized that I wanted to stop trying to change myself. I wanted to learn to feel beautiful without eye-shadow, mascara, or hair-dye.

Anyway. Upon hearing my explanation, Kay remarked that “by the time I was twenty-five, they’d probably get me back.” For a couple seconds, I began to feel tense and uncomfortable. What made her say that? Who was she to judge my decisions? Then I took another look at her. She was in her late forties or early fifties, dressed in a neat beige pants-suit, with her hair done up and her make-up caked on. I wondered what she had experienced in her life, and what kind of choices she had made. And I realized then that Kay could think whatever she wanted, because her thoughts and opinions had no bearing on me or my life. Right then, and right now, I feel good the way I am. That feeling, not the snide comment of a middle-aged Mary Kay saleswoman, is what’s really important.

I left the café where I met them feeling happy and content.

So far, I think this self-love experiment is working for me.

On the Subject of Friendship

[This post is for the 4th Carnival of Aces.]

I’m asexual. From the first moment I read a description of asexuality, I was certain of my asexual identity. However, I have no freaking idea what my romantic orientation is. This used to bother me somewhat, but now it doesn’t. I don’t feel the need to have that aspect of my identity set in stone. I know for certain that I have no interest in romantic relationships, and that’s enough to function with.

But just because I don’t want romance in my life, that doesn’t mean that I don’t want any kind of relationship. I don’t want romance, no. But I do want friendship.

I’ve always wanted friendship, even before I fully realized how much I wanted it. I want close friends, friends who seem to hover in the space between friend and family. I want friends who value our friendship as much as I do, and who will happily put just as much work into our friendship as I will. I want friends who won’t drop me in favor of another relationship, romantic or otherwise, but will strive to maintain our friendship because it is important and meaningful to both of us. I want friends who will share their thoughts and opinions and interests with me, and who will be willing to share my thoughts, opinions, and interests as well. I want to value someone as an integral part of my life, and have them value me in return.

Is this a queer-platonic relationship? I’m not entirely sure. I imagine it could be, and I would be okay with that. It doesn’t matter to me so much that I have a specific name for the relationship. I believe that a relationship is whatever the people involved decide to call it; no one can decide what a relationship is except for the people who are directly involved. Right now, I have at least one friendship that could probably be called queer-platonic, except that we don’t. Maybe we might in the future. The name of the relationship is not as important to me as the relationship itself. Also, many of my friends don’t have the same kind of vocabulary I do.

But truly, I don’t think that any of my friendships have quite reached the level I want them to reach. I have a ton of acquaintances, a lot of friends, and a handful of best friends. Even with my best friends, though, I feel like I’m missing the kind of trust and interdependence I long for.

The closest I’ve gotten, I think, is my relationship with one of my younger sisters. We talk about everything. We share our joys and worries and frustrations and dreams with each other. We watch movies together, listen to music together, sometimes even exchange books or fanfiction recommendations. We have serious conversations about life, in person and by text message. We spend time together in the same room, not talking, just doing our own things and enjoying each other’s company. We randomly hug each other or say ‘I love you,’ for no other reason than because we can. My little sister is probably the one person I feel the closest to right now. I think it helps that I can count on her to be around, since we currently still live in the same house.

Still, I want to be able to count on my friends in such a way. I want to have relationships like the kind I have with my sister, but with people who aren’t related to me by blood – and without being romantic. People put so much weight on romantic relationships, trying to make their romantic partner meet all of their needs in life. Frequently I wish I could take a bit of the intensity and attach it to friendships instead. I’m not asking for one friendship that will replace a romantic relationship; I don’t want to become so dependent on one person. No, instead I’m desperately hoping there are other people out there who feel as I do, who want friendships that mean something. Friendships that will last.

The problem is that I have no idea how to articulate this need. I don’t know how to explain to my closest friends that, maybe, I wouldn’t mind if our friendships were a little bit closer. Part of me fears that, if they’ve never felt that longing for friendship like I have, they’ll relate to it in more familiar terms and end up correlating it with romantic attraction (which it definitely isn’t). Part of me worries that they simply might not be interested in being closer than we already are. I’m terrified that I could lose a friend by attempting to create a deeper bond. And I’ve never handled the loss of a friend – particularly a close friend – very well.

It's probably worth mentioning that I’ve always been rather a solitary person. I like solitude, and I find intense joy in time spent with only myself and my thoughts. But still, I have this need for people – people with whom I can non-romantically share my life. And I’m not sure how to find them.

My Love-Hate Relationship with Romantic Comedies

So I’ve been watching a lot of LGBT films recently. This is because my local library doesn’t carry many of them, and I’m trying to watch as many DVDs through Netflix as I can before they up the price in September and I’m forced to downgrade my plan to streaming only. Oh, the woes of a broke college student.

Anyway. Last week I watched a movie called Gray Matters, starring Heather Graham, Tom Cavanagh, and Bridget Moynahan. The best part of the movie was the spectacular cameo from Alan Cumming. He plays a quirky, sensitive, and very Scottish cabbie who also gets to act a brief scene in drag. But I digress. Gray Matters, while obviously intended to be uplifting in the end, left me feeling somewhat livid. The main character, a lesbian named Gray, is portrayed as moderately dysfunctional; she’s ditzy, demanding, and a bit manic. She lives with her brother, Sam. Both of them are searching for love. One day Sam meets a woman named Charlie, and after one evening out, he proposes and she accepts. Brother, sister, and fiancée all go to Vegas so Sam and Charlie can elope. But the night before the wedding, Gray and Charlie get drunk and end up sharing a kiss. Gray flips out, but in the morning, Charlie doesn’t remember what happens, and marries Sam just as planned.

The rest of the movie is spent with Gray coming to terms with the fact that she’s gay and in love with her brother’s wife. Yes, the plot is completely irrational and utterly improbable. That isn’t automatically a turn-off for me. As long as the characters in a film feel realistic and relatable to me, I can suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the story. Example: Love Actually is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that movie is CRAZY improbable. That scene with Thomas Sangster running through the airport after Olivia Olson? So unlikely, but so amazing.

No, what pissed me off the most about Gray Matters was the end. I won’t describe it in detail, if anybody out there wants to see the movie. Basically, it ends with the implication that all Gray needs to do is fall in love, and everything will be magically fixed. Even if she’s in love with her brother’s wife, she has to find someone else who’s actually available, and then her whole life will fall spectacularly into place. It is also implied that she needs to accept herself in order to be happy. That part of the message I very much agreed with. But there was a definite hint of, “You’re only accepting yourself if you’ve got a romantic/sexual partner,” that I found annoying and unnecessary.

This week I watched another lesbian romantic comedy called Imagine Me & You and, to my surprise, I completely loved it. Piper Perabo plays Rachel, a woman about to get married to her best friend and fiancé, Hector (the lovely Matthew Goode). At her wedding, as she’s walking down the aisle, Rachel happens to lock eyes with a florist named Luce, played by Lena Headey (who reminds me of a healthier, prettier version of Keira Knightley). It’s love at first sight, and even though Rachel still marries Heck, she spends the entire movie struggling with the strength of her developing feelings for Luce.

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not any more probable than the events of Gray Matters, or the events of Love Actually, for that matter. In fact, there were a few scenes in Imagine Me & You that distinctly reminded me of Love Actually. But what I really loved about Imagine Me & You was the realness of the characters. Even though the plot was a little unrealistic, I felt like I was watching real people living their lives. They were sympathetic, they handled themselves in logical ways, and I felt a sincere liking for all of them (at least, for the ones you’re supposed to like, anyway). And after all, isn’t real life sometimes a little unrealistic?

Perhaps most importantly, while watching Imagine Me & You, I didn’t feel like I was having a judgement shoved down my throat. I didn’t feel like the message was “you aren’t being ‘the real you’ until you open up to romantic love.” Rather, the sentiment that stuck with me was “love is important and worthy of honoring.” That’s something I can stomach a lot more easily. I much prefer to watch people being true to their feelings than following some predetermined formula for societal normality.

Furthermore, when a movie implies that love is worth honoring, it feels a lot more open to interpretation – as if, whatever type of love you feel or don’t feel, as long as you find happiness in the end, that’s what matters. When a movie implies that you are only being true to yourself if you’re searching for your one true love, well… That’s when I take issue. But it’s likely that different people may have gotten different things out of these two movies than I did. I would be very interested to hear anybody else’s take on the films – or on romantic comedies in general.

Asexuality: A Brief Introduction

I would like to use this blog to write (occasionally) about topics and issues regarding asexuality. However, since there may be people reading this blog, now or in the future, who are unfamiliar with this subject, I have decided that it is probably prudent for me to include a little explanation.

The generally accepted definition of an asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction. This does not equate with celibacy, which is the practice of suppressing and not acting on one’s sexual attraction, for whatever reason. Celibacy is a choice. Asexuality is an orientation.

The people who make up the asexual communities are just as diverse as people who make up the sexual communities. Every person, sexual or asexual, is different. Some asexuals experience romantic attraction, and thus may identify themselves as heteroromantic, homoromantic, biromantic, or panromantic. Some asexuals identify as aromantic, meaning that they do not experience romantic attraction to anyone.

Asexuals may feel sex-positive (i.e. sex is a good thing for consenting adults) or sex-negative (i.e. sex is bad no matter what). Some asexuals may be repulsed by sex, and other may be indifferent to it. It is important to point out that orientation is not the same thing as behavior: an asexual person might still have sex. For example, despite not being sexually attracted to anyone, an asexual may compromise and agree to have sex with their romantic partner. Some asexuals, though not sexually attracted to anyone, still have sex because they like how it feels. Some asexuals masturbate. Some don’t engage in any of the above.

The word “ace” is often used to refer to someone who is asexual or to something that is related to asexuality. The word “asexy” may also be used by some people.

For more information, I would highly recommend checking out AVEN, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, at this website:

http://www.asexuality.org/home/

I have found their Overview, FAQ sections, and Asexual Perspectives to be very useful and educational. For a nice compilation of definitions, I would suggest this page from the Asexual Advice Tumblr:

http://asexualadvice.tumblr.com/glossary

Another extremely useful definition page comes from outlawroad on Tumblr:

http://outlawroad.tumblr.com/post/6334762387/basic-terms-for-understanding-relationships

As a disclaimer: What I say on this blog about asexuality comes from my own person experience as an asexual, and should not be taken as an absolute truth describing all asexuals. If I say I'm sex-repulsed, for example, that does not mean that all asexuals are also sex-repulsed. Like I said earlier, everyone is different. Everyone has different experiences.

Hi. I'm me. And this is my blog.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to my blog!

I created this mostly because I wanted to be able to comment on other blogs that I read. Generally speaking, I'm pretty awful about lurking and never leaving comments (read: I do it constantly). However, I also want to use the opportunity to begin a blog of my own -- which I frequently fantasize about doing and at which I rarely succeed. This blog will be used to discuss anything I find interesting: human rights; LGBT issues; Ace issues; culture; relationships; music; movies; books. Basically, if it's relevant to my life and/or interests, expect it to be brought up at some point. Theoretically, I'd like to post something once a week. We'll see how that works out in practice.

That said, I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts and opinions with whomever takes the time to read them, and I hope you'll share your thoughts and opinions with me in the comments!