Category: Essay
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Woe, Boypussy Be Upon Ye: Transing Characters in Fanfic & Fanart
What’s the deal with envisioning your blorbos as transgender? Originally published in Prism & Pen. It’s been unbelievably positive for me as a trans dude, the change in approach to trans characters in fandom and subsequently in media in general, and I just wanted to write a bit about my experiences with the cultural shift…
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My Top 6 Films of 2023
Just some recommendations for my favourite new releases of last year! Photo by Wyron A on Unsplash 2023 had a few knock-out hits as far as the cinema goes — obviously, people were very excited about the respective releases of Barbie and Oppenheimer, but my top films of the year were a bit different. One thing I do think…
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Raped and Ruined: Themes of Sexual Assault and Reproductive Coercion in Alien (1979)
Theme: Capitalism, Theme: Debt & Money Troubles, Theme: Gender Exploration & Nonconformity, Theme: Horrors & Thrillers, Theme: Misogyny & Sexism, Theme: Monsters & Monsterfucking, Theme: Patriarchy & White Supremacy, Theme: Pregnancy & Reproduction, Theme: Science Fiction Movies & Books, Theme: Sexual Abuse & Rape, Theme: Sexual Health & MidwiferyExploring the underlying anxieties around sexual assault, loss of bodily autonomy, and forced impregnation in Alien (1979). From Merriam-Webster: Rape: unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of…
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Is the Homophobia Worth a New Hobby?
Rolling the dice on homophobia in nerd spaces. Originally published in Prism & Pen. I went to a board-game evening last night with my boyfriend Lewis, who’s nonbinary and uses he/they pronouns. Frequently, people assume they’re cisgender, especially because he’s fat and has a gorgeous, thick beard. I’m a gay trans man, I only use he/him…
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Barbie Isn’t Anti-Men — It’s Anti-Toxicity
Patriarchy does damage to us all, and Barbie (2023, dir. Greta Gerwig) clearly depicts that. Via IMDb. We went to see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie at the weekend and I was honestly surprised by how much I engaged with it — it’s a fun, entertaining flick, but where it really took me by surprise is in the three-dimensionality and…
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Yentl: A Trans Man Studying Talmud is Distracted by Gay Thoughts
Yentl (1983, dir. Barbra Streisand) and Yentl the Yeshiva Boy by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Any of us would be distracted from study by Mandy Patinkin. Via IMDb. It’s a sad thing, hearing cisgender people talk about Yentl — especially the short story — and think they understand it, that they’re getting everything from it, while at the same time, they can’t…
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Close Reading: A Deep Dive into the Process
An in-depth guide into applying analysis to a piece of text and extrapolating meaning. A close reading is what we call an in-depth analysis of a piece of text, which might be in the case of fiction a short story, or for novels and novellas might be a portion or an extract from the text.…
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The Relief of a Queer Audience as a Fruity Stand-Up Comic
Explaining one’s existence takes up time. Originally published in Prism & Pen. I’m a stand-up comedian. Last week, I did some comedy at a queer-run, queer-centred open mic — suddenly, a twelve-minute set fit into six, because I was in a room full of queer people who knew exactly what I was talking about. I didn’t have to…