while i can mainly only speak for sapphic playlists, ive noticed in general that the lgbt playlists were making are really white, cover heavy and… straight?

so heres a (very unabridged) list of lgbt musicians that deserve to be on your playlists way more than that cover of lego house. in alphabetical order:

Against Me! if youre trans & alternative and dont know abt against me - lead by trans frontwoman and punk rock mum laura jane grace - then idk what youre doing. ik theyre p well known, but i still never see them in playlists.

Angel Haze / Raen Roes black & native american two-spirit rapper with the brilliant freestyle rewrite of ‘same love’

Ashby and the Oceanns cute midwestern singer/songwriter with a tmg influence

Be Steadwell super cute butch singer/songwriter

Beth O'Reilly irish youtube singer whose gay ukelele songs arent covers

Bloc Party indie rock band from east london led by kele okereke, coolest man on earth, ended oasis w his snark (seriously)

Chris Garneau french-american indie singer reminiscent of spektor’s anti folk, often discusses trauma with very sad, floaty music. very androgynous voice

Christine and the Queens french synthpop by pansexual singer héloïse letissier

Coeur de Pirate french-canadian singer with a more folky vibe reminiscent of of monsters and men. oh, and shes dating laura jane grace. put them both in the same playlist. please.

Daskinsey4 (warning for nsfw imagery in the link) fuzzpedal britpop from bristol with a fun, bouncy tone

Doria Roberts 90s american folk singer/songwriter. political and confident. put ‘honey jar’ in your playlist please just do it.

Ezra Furman gay american alternative rock singer similar to neutral milk hotel

Ferras indie pop singer with a strong bowie influence vocally

Frank Ocean yes, you know who he is. have you listened to him? have you? i dont care if you only listen to harsh noise folk backwards - listen to frank ocean.

Gerard Way we all know gerard fuzzpedal emo king friends with ljg way and still i see more artic monkeys in these gaylists (gay playlists)

Grace Petrie folk singer from the midlands, england whose bbfsies w billy brag. has two modes: angry gay, sad gay. what more do you need?

Hayley Kiyoko ok ok ik we all know her shes the token woc in your playlist im putting her on the list anyway because im in love with her

Honeywater has a dubious place on the list due to the other fella but.. this is amandla stenbergs band. amandla. they make music. remember that.

the Hoosiers the british indie band behind ‘goodbye mister a’

Indigo Girls this is fucking lesbian heritage right here. Old Skool lesbian country singers right here.

the Internet classique gay triphop led by my dream girlfriend, syd the kyd

Jasmine Kennedy soft sad indie folk from the north of england. her sweet, quiet music ranges from melancholic to happy ending bliss. shes stage buddies w grace petrie too. put ‘cardigan sweater’ in your playlist. do it.

JD Samson & MEN nonbinary dance music officianado JD Samson and her new band after le tigre. loud and fun and gay

Jussie Smollet he plays jamal in empire. admittedly, he hasnt brought out his own stuff yet, but his music for empire is beautiful soulful R&B

Kaytranada a gay music producer whose worked with all the big names, including collaborating with the internet. gay squared.

Le Tirgre lesbian feminist dance music

MIKA the fella behind ‘grace kelly’ and outspoken mga singer whose broached gay/bi topics in his peppy, flamboyant pop since the beginning

MNEK brand new pop sensation making waves with his smooth, energetic love songs

Mr. Twin Sister american indie pop band from long island

Neon Hitch bisexual rroma indie pop singer from the uk

Rachael Yamagata melancholic, blues inspired folk-pop with a smooth, deep voice

Shamir nonbinary synthpop singer known for his androgynous voice and catchy, light hearted tunes such as ‘on the regular’ and ‘make a scene’

Sia bisexual pop-ballad queen who sings often abt trauma, mental illness, and abuse

Soko kristen stewarts girlfriend. indie singer with a high, airy voice whose music ranges in topic from trauma to homophobia to the surreal. put ‘who wears the pants’ on your playlist.

Spoonboy genderqueer punk singer from washington dc. try 'sexy dreams’

Teenage Kitchen airy kidcore ukelele folk from bandcamp

Tegan & Sara look, ok, i know everyone knows abt tegan and sara. the lesbian band. so why are they never on sapphic/lesbian playlists? why?

Thao & Mirah folk/country lesbian mirah teams up w thao, who afaik is also sga, for an album of soft, sweet folk music

Tracy Chapman seriously ok this is History. this is the woman behind 'fast car.’ very political american folk singer from the 90s. i love her. shes amazing.

Tunde Olaniran R&B / hiphop singer from michigan with a loud, take-no-shit style

Willow Smith yes, the willow smith. she wrote two love songs dedicated to marceline from adventure time. thats all you need to know. shes perfect.

Younger Lovers fuzzpedal energetic indie punk

this is also a list of trans women on bandcamp (check the notes for additions)

also, yknow what, spoken word poetrys getting quite popular now. heres a few lgbt spoken word poets to put in the start or end of your playlist to shake it up:

andrea gibson, toby campion, venus selenite, dia davina, aislinn evans, denice frohman, ollie renee schminkey, jade anouka

note: ive bolded the names of poc to emphasise our lgbt playlists are too white. trans musicians are italicised for similar reasons.

please feel free to add your own!

This post is actually really validating to me, as someone who both struggles with and desperately wants to reject the gender binary. Thank you, Ora.

Want to go on a date with someone with a cane and chronic pain?

- Make sure the place where you’re going is accessible!  Your date might opt to use a wheelchair that day, and if they’re using a cane, best to make sure there aren’t a silly number of stairs involved in whatever date you’re considering.

- Call ahead to the place to see if wheelchairs are available to borrow if you’re going somewhere that involves a lot of walking and standing around, like a museum.

- If your date is using a cane, they likely only have one arm to hold things.  Consider bringing their food/drinks to the table along with yours– let them claim a booth while you get the food!

- Be prepared and willing to be someone’s physical support sometimes, especially if your date is having a rough leg day.

- Be prepared for a Plan B Date: it’s so awesome to have a back-up plan for the date if the day comes around and your person is spoonless.  Believe me, it’ll mean a lot.

i just really want to add some from my own experience:

Also remember just because the cane isn’t there doesn’t mean the disability isn’t there. All of these points are still relevant. Be aware. Be considerate.

All of these are wonderful tips no matter WHO your date is. Especially if it's a new partner you don't know well, to already understand their energy levels, what things tire them out or cause them pain, etc, it's good to discuss things like this in depth and figure out what your partner's limits and preferences and needs are, and how those factor into your dates. You really never know. Not all disabilities are visible, or even diagnosed. I suffered from Hashimoto's for over a decade before we found out what it was by total happenstance. My sister has severe knee, ankle, and back problems you wouldn't know she has until they get aggravated. And hell, sometimes people just have days where they're tired or sore! Never assume! Be considerate, probably more than you think is necessary, unless your partner say they'd prefer otherwise. Communicate. Listen and believe what your partner tells you and respect if they make a reasonable request. If your partner says they're not up for something, don't assume it has anything to do with you. (And of course all of this applies to platonic outings as well, and is multiplied if you're in a polyam relationship where you need to take into consideration the needs of multiple partners.)

Just some problems I’ve been having lately haha

so like this is really random

but how many people would watch an adventure show with a canon (healthy) polyamorous relationship? because i really want to write one and i’m curious

Yes!!

That would be great.

Count me in! ♥

“Lomas published 216 of these so-called “untranslatable” words in the Journal of Positive Psychology last week aiming to both “help expand the emotional vocabulary of English speakers” and “provide a window onto cultural differences in constructions of well-being”; the words are also neatly laid out on his website by theme.

Here are some of the loveliest, alongside translations by Lomas into their nearest-possible English definition:

Related:

I like poly relationships, I really do. I like knowing my lovers have lovers who care for them, I like knowing they’re looked after if I am unavailable. I like loving and caring for my lover’s lovers. I have so much affection for the people of my people. I like talking to metamours and swapping notes and sharing info and checking in. Poly families and clusters feel like… tribes. To me, anyway. They feel good when they’re healthy.

I don’t think people get art. I feel like people think art is something created by a tortured soul and you have to go out of your way to go to an art gallery and you have some kind of emotional response and that’s art.

But that’s bullshit

You walk into a grocery store and you’re surrounded by art. Who do you think designs the packages? Fucking artists. Who do you think designed your house? Your bedsheets? Your car? Artists.

Art is a necessity. It’s everywhere, we wear it, we talk about it, we live in it. It’s everywhere. Every color, negative space, font, placement, material, you come into contact with an artist had a hand in that. TV, movies, music, graphics, It’s everywhere, it’s everything

I hate to be that dick but the definition truly depends on who’s writings you’re basing your own interpretation off of and I have more respect for my professor who admitted that he doesn’t see all comic books or any tattoos as art than I do this weird blanket meaningless statement shit.

I never asked for or wanted your respect, same goes for your opinion. And comic books and tattoos are art, that’s literally art, and your professor is an uneducated self sucking jack ass for thinking otherwise.

Which definition of art are you basing your point on, though? Because you seem to be defining it as “pretty pictures”, and this is a pretty shallow definition.

Also I’d like to see you try to survive one day in a real artist environment, with your complete inability to take criticism, lol.

Art itself. And if you read the first thing I said you’d understand that clearly I see art as being more than just ‘pretty pictures.’ Also, what are you even talking about? What’s a “real artists environment” And I can take criticism, but someone saying comic art and tattoo art isn’t art is fucking bullshit.

“Art itself” is not a definition. You just said “art is art”, and that means nothing. Either come up with a real definition or admit that you don’t have one.

What I meant is that anyone who actually is an artist knows the process of learning and refinement includes a LOT of criticism, of tearing apart your own work and remaking it better. Your reaction to criticism was really bad and you jumped straight to insults and ad hominems and “funny” gifs, so that tells me that you’re either very inexperienced or you never really been in the sort of environment that I’ve mentioned.

And maybe get some reading comprehension. No, not all comic books are art. Some are just corporate crap made to sell toys. Hell, MOST of them are that. And some are shameless propaganda. I’d consider very few of them to be made with true artistic intent. I wouldn’t go as far as saying no tattoo can be considered art, but most of them are not. In the modern, western context, the vast majority is self-indulgent and made with pure decorative purpose. This is not art, even if they’re pretty.

Art =/= pretty.

This is why I’m asking where you’re getting your definition of art, because you seem to be caught up in the newbie mistake of conflating art and beauty.

You know nothing of my work, or what I accomplished and your definition of art is just as blurry and full of bullshit as you claim mine to be. I mean your definition is literally “what I feel like,” vs mine which is “it fucking is,” . There’s been whole movements questioning and changing the definition of art, and usually when people say what isn’t art and what it comes from classist, racist, and sexist bullshit.

The paintings of royalty in museums, that’s art right? But did the artist have any real control over the painting? Weren’t they just helping the ruling class solidify how they see themselves, and how they want others to see them? Weren’t they just selling the same bullshit? The same proganda as a happy M&Ms. So many artists hated painting that bullshit, but they did it, and it’s art, regardless.

Also, go fuck yourself. I insulted that dude because he insulted comic artists and tattoo artists.

Artists.

You call them artists

BECAUSE THEY CREATE FUCKING ART

She was quite clearly outlining her definition of art within her original post?  If you’ve studied art in a ‘real artist environment’ and know as much as you profess to know about art, you’ll know that each significant art movement brings with it its own outlines of what art is, what it is for and how it’s to be used. You will also know that since the dawn of modern art towards the end of the 1800s, one of the biggest features has been its constant interrogation of what actually defines art. Artists have been pushing the boundaries of art in a never ending multitude of ways with the very object of melting the definition of art down, often without even any desire to reform it as something new. (at the very least I’d expect that you understand pop art?) The culmination of this is that art is in constant flux, and any attempt to shape it into an exclusive definition is inherently flawed and restrictive. There is no encompassing definition of art, because art is organic, and cannot be confined to a catch-all definition; as in nature, there are always exceptions.

Throughout history, any art movements whose intentions were to reign in what art is, or to hark back to more traditional forms and techniques of art were ultimately left behind as artefacts of their time, while open progressive attitudes to art were able to contribute to the development of it, and as such took a strong foothold in what art would become for future generations. Further, these established, standardised, academic (with a little a) definitions of art come from institutions and academies, typically ran and inhabited primarily by wealthy white men, who are more or less entirely detached from the real world. You may look up to these people, see them as a source of inspiration and worship them as those who provide you with your beloved definitions, along with their entitlement and the feeling that you know best because these men have told you, and these men know everything that there is to know, but to follow them blindly and deny others of enjoying art as they wish to enjoy it is pitiful. Art is, and art always has been by and for people. When art becomes an exercise of academia or intelligence, then it is inherently detached, unnatural, and contrary to the organic development of art and society. 

@shamelesslyunladylike, here’s a definition for you: Art is an idea translated into organized form, usually with the intent to influence.

So, the art you see in museums–let’s start with the portraits of aristocrats that were common before the days of photography, for example–were created to influence the public perception of those figures, including long after their deaths. Religious art was created to inspire awe and wonder–and sometimes fear–towards the divine and those who claimed to speak for it. Secular art was created to show the “mundane” as also worthy of awe.

And to expand on what @fullten was saying (and which, by the way, was a criticism of your way of thinking that you took horribly even though it wasn’t even aimed at you personally. Remember that next time you try to use a logical fallacy to dismiss someone's argument.), advertising art is created in order to influence perception of a product in order to get people to buy it. (Note that many works we now consider “fine art”, such as much of that created by Art Nouveau artists like Alphonse Mucha, were actually advertising.)

Tattoo art is translated from the wearer’s idea of what they want on their body, into a tangible form that very much influences the perception of those who view it. This can cause so strong a reaction that some people will change their entire opinion of a person if nothing else changes about them except that they get a tattoo.

Architecture and interior design are examples of functional art, which nonetheless influence peoples’ perceptions. A business with a modern and funky building and decor will be perceived very differently from one that uses gothic-style architecture, even if they provide near-identical products or services. Fashion design does the same for individuals, or in the case of uniforms, groups.

And all entertainment media–comics included–has a massive influence on the development of society. Comics, for instance, usually offer views on morality, many of which are aimed at children and can influence what traits they perceive as heroic or villainous for their entire lives.

All of this taps into the same primal instincts in people: What we find beautiful, versus what we find repulsive. What creates desire, versus what inspires avoidance. If you want to really understand the power of art, walk into a store and look around. Pay attention to the judgments you make about the store itself due to its architecture, interior design, and organization. Pay attention to the assumptions you make about people based on what they wear. Pay attention to which products attract your attention and which make you think, “I wouldn’t buy that in a million years.” Pay attention to how many of these opinions have been subconsciously programmed into your mind from the media you consumed throughout your life.

That influence on your thinking is the very essence of art. If you really look deeply into your own mind, you'll start to realize that even your very ideas of what is and is not art were influenced, in great part, by art itself, or by others who were affected by it.

BINDER GIVEAWAY VII: THE GENDER AWAKENS

Here at the end of a long winter, we at Shapeshifters just cleared the 350-sale mark. As a small token of our everlasting thanks, we’re holding our seventh binder giveaway!

As ever, the lucky winner will receive one single-layer custom-sized binder in their choice of size, cut, and print. This means anything we offer that’s priced at $55 or under. Check out the store for your options.

Here be the rules:

Good luck!

As a side note: we’re moving! If you like what we do and want us to be able to continue doing it, please consider donating a few dollars via Storenvy or Youcaring, or ordering some fabric samples! We’d ideally like to move as smoothly as possible without having to close the store, slow down production, or sell our gay little souls, and you can help make that happen.

Thanks!

For both myself and any of my followers or visitors who need/want an awesome binder!

ok, shout out to trans people who aren’t considered the norm by cis people

i mean trans people who don’t pass. trans people who don’t try or want to pass. trans people who can’t attempt to pass for safety reasons. 

trans people who don’t have dysphoria. trans people who aren’t binary, or have a “made-up” identity. trans people who use “weird” pronouns or neopronouns. trans people who are gender non-conforming. 

trans people that aren’t skinny. trans people who aren’t white. trans people who aren’t straight. disabled trans people and mentally ill trans people.

i love each and every one of you. all of you are so beautiful and you don’t have to live up to cis standards to be valid.

Trans Women on Bandcamp

I spent the last couple hours compiling this list. It is by no means the entirety of trans women/trans feminine folks on Bandcamp, it’s just the ones I could find. Reblog it, add to it, buy their music. Lich Witch House/IDM

Jane Doe and the Misery Loves Co Folk Punk

Ashby and the Oceanns Folk/Punk/Indie

Bella Trout Folk/Punk/Indie

Little Waist Punk/Pop Punk

Hazagussa Black Metal/Noise Metal

Lyskoi - Alyssa Kai Folk/Folk Punk   -Do not know for sure how Alyssa identifies, but there’s a good chance that Alyssa fits here.

Calliope Wong Instrumental/Classical/Electronic/Noise

Venus Selenite Spoken Word

Stars on a Bedroom’s Wall Tremendously Varied

Trrtle Nation Experimental Electro Noise

Ellie Rose Instrumental Synthpop

Skeletor Rising Electronic Harsh Noise

Hot Noisy Mess Electronic Harsh Noise/Experimental

Mya Byrne Folk/Americana

Pain Wife Electronic Harsh Noise/Death Industrial

Bog Witch Doom Noise/Noise Metal

Virtual Intelligence Cyber-Goth/Industrial/Neon Metal

Through Waves World Fusion/Darkwave

Ellah a Thaun Lyrical Dissonance

Toxic Delirium Gutter Punk/Noise Grunge

HIRS Speedcore/Thrash/Grind

Noize Pervertz Harsh Noise

pinkclaws Ambient Electropop

Ruby Price Pop Punk/Mumblepunk

So many people added bands to this post when they reblogged it Lemme try and update it: G.L.O.S.S Hardcore Punk

Wet Dress Punk

Noel'le Longhaul Experimental/Folk/Indie

Mallory Folk/Folk Punk

Knight of Swords Gothic Rock

Listen Lady Indie/Punk

blacksquares Alternative/Electro Pop

Cate Wurtz Lo-Fi Electronic

Lauren Bousfield Electronic

Dingo Experimental/Ambient Arcane Electronic

Computer Vs World Chiptune Synthpop/Electronic

Svetlana Synthpop/Chiptune

She/Her/Hers Folk Punk

hopeinthestatic Lo-fi Folk Punk

hearken ambient drone/glitch/punk

Violent Pastels Crossover Thrash

Mean Girls Screamo/Emo/Pop Punk

Recurse Witch House/Ambient/Industrial

Hoity~Toity Old-School Pop Punk/Punk

a glass box Punk/Emo/Grunge

Tall Girl Metal/Basement Punk/Grunge

CRISSY BELL Art Rock/Goth Pop

Infantile Dissention Anarcho-Punk/Crust Punk

White Mascara Anarcho Post-Punk

Bümflap Feminist Loser Punk

TRON MAXIMUM Vapor Metal/Black Noise/Electronic Takeshi and the Kid Chiptune/Synthpop/Darkwave 

These stunning portraits reveal a stereotype-busting truth about freckles

Kids talk about the meaning of Black History Month