lgbtq

Hot n' spicy discourse on representation, race and gender is firing up on Twitter (again) because of...emojis. Not sure what stage of civilization we're in now, but it's getting pretty absurd. If there's one thing Twitter has shown us time and time again, it's that even the most mundane and innocuous cultural phenomena can be twisted into highly contentious issues. @Emojipedia announced an array of new emojis that might hit devices this year, including a Hamsa Hand that looks just like Cthulu when turned upside-down, a face that either can't look away or can't bear to look (depending on your interpretation), Lin-Manuel Miranda lips, an orc, trans and gender-neutral pregnant people, new hand gestures in a variety of skin tones, and a handful of other very specific options.

Not everyone chose to be offended by the pregnant man emoji. Many were more concerned with the suggestive lip-biting emoji, whose resemblance to Lin-Manuel Miranda was quite triggering. The beans were a pretty big hit, though more than a few were indignant over the lack of a solid pink heart and called for a revision. You just can't please everyone. Perhaps in a decade or so, we'll have achieved emoji representation so perfect, we won't even be able to distinguish the emoji reality from our own.

It's Pride month, and we all know what that means. The world is celebrating the  LGBTQ+ community - and brands are bending over backwards trying to show their solidarity. While some companies opt to create rainbow versions of their logos (ahem, Raytheon), others color-fy their home pages or offer special editions of their food products. Apparently - for the second year in a row - Skittles has joined the latter group, re-issuing their "pride packs" of gray candies. The depressing-looking bags claim that "only one rainbow matters during pride" and that Skittles "gives up" its rainbow in support of the month. 

??? What the f*ck lmao pic.twitter.com/qJc0LII4io

— jack "gray skittles" gross (@_jackary) June 1, 2021

We're not sure if we blocked the PR stunt out of our minds last year, or if they fell under the radar - but we're not alone in our surprise regarding color being drained from the fruity, chewy candy. Twitter user @jackary (who happens to be gay) shared his disbelief at the gray bags yesterday, which happened to be the first day of Pride month. Though it's undoubtedly important to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, many people  on the internet think this is laughable act of cringeytheatrics. And they're not afraid to say it. Though this may be one of the silliest shows of support from a corporation, it's only June 2nd. There's a lot more time for pandering. And a lot more time to make fun of it. 

It's almost June, and most cities are gearing up for what is bound to be a raucous post-Covid celebration around the world. At this point, we know what to expect: lots of rainbows, free condoms, happy dancing, and a whole lot of brands making shallow attempts to market to queer people. The annual and obvious pandering is so blatant that it's inspired its own set of memes regarding how quickly corporations seem to remember (and then forget) the LGBT community. This year, the first brand-mocking callouts hail from Twitter, and are coming in much earlier than usual.  

Brands marketing My gay
to gays: friends: pic.twitter.com/nl0PujFl3y

— kewlshrek (@kewlshrek) May 16, 2021

Instead of focusing merely on cringey brands, the Twitter meme (the brainchild of @kewlshrek) contrasts how marketers portray gay people with how gay people - and gay friends - actually look and behave. Where adverts tell you that gay people are flamboyant, loud, and decked our in rainbows, these Twitter users want the world to know that their friends are generally represented by people who are just a bit more complex. In some of the memes, that means goths and vampires. In others? Ethereal elves and even characters from Recess. We appreciate that the memes and funny and ring true. But it's also just good to see reductive depictions get the meme treatment - while also giving people who don't fit into those stereotypes a little more representation. 

We're all familiar with the story of Mulanfrom the classic '90s Disneymovie, but what you probably didn't know is the lesser-known tale of Captain Li Shang questioning his sexuality. Being the '90s and all, people weren't as comfortable talking about different sexual orientations as we are now, but the story is finally coming out of the closet! (sorry.)

All jokes aside, please enjoy this hilarious retold version of Mulan!

We've got an amusing selection of trans memes, tweets, and other internet things ranging from wholesome to spicy. Whether you're trans, nonbinary, or cis and eager to learn, these memes are for anyone to enjoy. If you're looking for more of this sort of content, r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns and r/GaySoundsShitposts are a couple of great subreddits full of supportive and hilarious memes for transgender and nonbinary people. 

What's so great about productivity? Do we really need more stuff in the world? We like to think we're doing society a favor by being extremely lazy and looking at dank memes all day. Idle people probably have a very low carbon footprint. So after you're done wasting time scrolling through this big bunch of random memes, you can tell all your friends about what a good person you are.

Sometimes all the memes and tweets about heteronormative problems can get a bit tiresome (we get it, you're cishet). That's why we've filled this list with spicy and relatable memes about LGBTQ+ life and jokes by gays for gays. 

In honor of Pride month, Nickelodeon just announced that Spongebob identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Fans, however, are having heated debates over this. While many agree with Nickelodeon's announcement, saying that it's been obvious that Spongebob was gay from day one, others are accusing Nickelodeon of virtue signalling. Some have even pointed out that the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg meant for Spongebob to be asexual. There are a lot of valid points being made in this heated debate, and of course, some excellent meme-age, so go ahead and get scrolling!

If you had told us on January first that by June we'd be battling a pandemic, racism & police brutality, and trying to celebrate Pride at the same time, we'd think you were on drugs. But we'd be extremely wrong. All of the above are happening, and it's all pretty overwhelming. But when the going gets tough and crazy, memers tend to respond with topical bits of spicy humor. And honestly, that's helping us through right now.

Happy Pride! Unfortunately this year won't be the same given the current state of destruction that our world is in, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate in our own homes and make fun of brands' cringey attempts to appear that they care about the LGBTQ+ community! 

There are those times when you feel so frustrated talking to someone that you just want to lash out and not give them any more of your time. This story, however, demonstrates that sometimes kindness and patience is the only way to convince them of your point of view. 

For this mother of a transgender child, it's clear that all she needed was to be put in her child's shoes. Now, who's cutting onions in here?

For the past few years, nearly every brand has been quick to incorporate the Pride flag into its logo as soon as June 1st rolls around, and then just as quickly abandon it once we hit July. 

One could probably make the argument that many companies only show their support for Pride because it's good for business and not necessarily because they care about the LGBTQ community, and that's exactly what these memes are making fun of!