Hey Nerds,

Just a small post to let you know that I got a new job!!!!

I still work at the same store, just at a new location but with better hours and a lot things to do. I have been exhausted for the past few days because of this and, well, it's meant that all I do is work, eat and sleep, which is not giving me much time to dedicate to the blog. But it's a great new challenge that I'm really enjoying I just need a little time to adjust. So, I am taking a small break until after my birthday (February 20th).

Sorry for this little hiatus, but I need some time to get used to this new job. I hope you can all understand.

Love,

Bi Nerd

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Hey Nerds,

I wanted to make a post that would let you all get to know me and some of my obsessions a little bit more. Well, specifically one obsession: the 50’s. It’s one of my favourite time periods. They had great art, music, clothing, interior and graphic design, cars and so much more. Yes, they were problematic years, but they are 100% my aesthetic!

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So, yes, I am mildly obsessed with the 50’s and, well, I guess it’s just part of my quirks!

Love,
Bi Nerd

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P.S. Here is one of @Jessicaoutofthecloset's videos. I picked this one because I love Her and Her wife very much. I hope you all enjoy it as much as me.

Hey Nerds,

I hope you have been doing well. Life has been good to me lately.

I was reading my first post of the year and I realized that I have made a lot of promises that I didn’t fully keep. I made some merchandise, but not very much. I made pages on different social media platforms, but didn’t really use them. I said I would post every Wednesday, and I haven’t posted in a month or so. The list could go on... I have to admit that blogging is a lot harder than I had previously thought. Therefore, I have come up with a list of things I want to work on in 20-bi-teen(no promises, though):

1. Freshen up the look of the blog;
2. Post twice a month;
3. Make my first YouTube video;
4. Be more active on at least one social media platform;
5. Make new merchandise;
6. Update the Gay Playlist on Spotify or make a 2019 one;
7. Go out and hand out some business cards to try and get more people to read the blog, and hopefully get more people to comment and ask questions to help me keep this page up and running.

Now these are great but, of course, they’re what I wish for, not necessarily what will happen. Sometimes, life gets in the way. I will try to make these changes but, as I said earlier, I make no promises. However, to let you know that I'm taking this seriously, I wanted to let you in on what I have already started working on:

1. To freshen up the look of this blog, I have sketched some ideas of how I would like it to look. I don’t want to change it too much, as I still want it to be recognizable. Just a few changes here and there.
2. I will make a blog notebook with a list of themes that I can use when I’m uninspired to write posts, and I started writing deadlines on my calendar for when I need to give my editor these posts, so that I can give her a healthy amount of time to edit these.
3. I really tried to start my YouTube channel this year: I met with an artist, we had a plan, but life got in her way. Therefore, I started to draw the character myself. I also bought a good microphone, a pop filter and an editing software. Hopefully it works out soon. However, expect fewer videos than posts as they take days to make. Furthermore, don’t expect amazing drawings. I made them simple so that animating them would be easier.
4. Being active on social media is hard. I don’t even do it for my personal accounts. Therefore, this one will depend: if I start doing YouTube videos don’t expect me to be very active online, and if I don’t do YouTube this year, then I will try to get one of my pages to be more active.
5. New merchandise is also difficult. I have currently run out of ideas. If any of you have suggestions, please let me know, and if I start my YouTube channel and you like the character, maybe I will make merchandise with her. We’ll have to wait and see.
6. Recently I haven’t been taking care of the Gay Playlist. I need to sit down and either make a new one or just add to this one. This is not the easiest task as, lately, I haven’t been paying much attention to songs to see if they’re queer. Feel free to leave a comment or message me if you have songs you would like to see in the playlist!
7. Finally, I already have business cards, so that is a start. Now I just need to go and hand them out. I’m also working on a bit of a treat this year, at least in the Montreal area, which might help the comment section of this page be more active.

In conclusion, I don’t know what life will bring this year, but hopefully it’s as great and productive as I’m hoping it will be. :)

Love,

Bi Nerd

P.S. this was meant for 2018 sorry. Happy New Year!!!!!

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Hey Nerds,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here is what I have been up to recently.


To Move or Not To Move
My last post was in September and, just a little bit after that, my friend and I decided that we were going to move out together. It was very exciting! We looked at apartments online, and I even visited a few. As we were about to decide on one, my car broke down. The repairs were expensive, which hurt my budget. Therefore, I sadly had to cancel our plans to move out as it would have been dumb of me to move at that point. I’m very disappointed, but hopefully I can start looking again within the next year.

Health Walks
I stopped my daily walks… Short lived, I know. I woke up one morning and was so tired that I just couldn't get myself to get up to walk. And, well, from that day on I stopped. I’m frustrated at myself for stopping, but it's apparently not enough for me to start again.

Office Party’s After Party
My coworkers and I decided to go to the bar after our office party. We drank and played billiards. Some of us had a lot to drink, me included. At some point, I went to the washroom to freshen up and a girl walked in. Oh man! Was she ever my type! Long curly blond hair, beautiful brown eyes, a bit shorter than me... She went into a stall and I left without a word. I got to the table and told my coworkers about her. We continued drinking and, as I decided I wanted one last drink, I went to the bar. There she was. I decided to tell her that she was gorgeous. While I was ordering my drink after, she poked me on the shoulder to ask me my name. I told her and gave her my number. We texted quite a bit that night, but sadly my coworkers ended the night early and brought me home saying I was too drunk. The next day, the girl in question texts me that I could just delete her number as all she had wanted was a threesome with me and her boyfriend the night before. Being rejected in such a way and being told that was the only interest someone had in you hurts.

After Party Aftermath
After rejecting me, the girl from the bar decided it would be funny to hand out my number. For about two weeks, I was getting texts from random guys saying stuff like: “Hey! You seem easy. Down to fuck?” or “You’re bi? My girlfriend and I are looking for a third.” Finally there was one who actually seemed nice, but when I decided to stop talking for the night he started calling me slut, skank and other such names. I reported them and have been left alone since, but if this starts up again I might have to change my number.

SALEM!!!
On a happier note, my best friend and I decided to go on a guided tour of Boston and Salem during Halloween weekend this year. It was fun, especially when we would ditch the group and do our own thing. We took tons of pictures in Boston and had some great food. In fact, our favourite was an Italian restaurant named Bencotto: their pumpkin ravioli with sage sauce was To Die For! Honestly, I would go back just for more of them.
Sadly, it was absolutely pouring during our day in Salem. I was afraid to take pictures due to the rain. However, this allowed us to do a lot of shopping and buy witchy things. I’ll add some pictures of our trip at the end of this post.

D&D
I have recently joined some awesome people on their Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I've only played twice so far, but I already love it. The people I’m playing with are super nice and chill. It’s definitely something that has been making me happy recently.


All in all, life has been giving me lemons lately and I’m trying really hard to make lemonade with them. I just keep forgetting to add the sugar. Maybe one day I’ll get the recipe right.

Love,

Bi Nerd

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Hey Nerds,

I would like to tell you about something I believe should not be ignored - Homophobia. Even in 2018, it is still a big problem. When I first decided I would make this blog, I wanted to write about all the good things about being gay, and how it is okay to be who we are and love who we love. I wanted to show the world that being gay is not something to be ashamed of. I still want to portray this message, but I also think it's important for people to know that there are still homophobic people out there. We still have to fight for our rights. We can't give up, because it is far from over.

Today, August 9th, 2018, I came face to face with modern homophobia in a Tim Hortons. I am fine now, but I want to share the story of the hatred I received so that you may know that these things still happen.

The day started off great. It was the first day of Montreal Pride and my boss had given me a day off for the Pride parade next weekend and for the Pride show the day before that, my coworkers and I bonded over some Todrick Hall songs, and I bought myself some nice clothes. After some shopping, I decided to go have supper and a coffee at Tim Hortons where I could sit peacefully and finish the book I was reading (Annie on my Mind for those of you who are curious).

As I was reading the last part of the book, a lady walked up to my table, cleared her throat and said, rather loud and rudely: “Could you not!?” I looked up at her, confused, and asked what I was doing that was bothering her. She then proceeded to tell me that there were children in the room and that I shouldn't be “showing off” that I'm gay, pointing at the buttons on my bag and my apparently obviously gay book. Angry, I got up and said that I wasn't doing anything wrong. I was simply sitting there enjoying my iced cappuccino and my book before she had interrupted me. Then, another lady (who was at the table next to mine) got up and handed me a scrap of paper with a number which she said could help me with my situation. I pocketed the number, thinking nothing of it at that moment. During this time, the woman who had first come up to me had picked up my book and was bringing it to the trash. I ran up to her, asking her what the hell she thought she was doing. She pulled out a bible, tried to hand it to me, and told me it was a much “healthier read”. I knocked the bible out of the way to try to grab my book, but she dropped it into the trash. (It must have been in something wet because now my book is all wrinkly and ripped.) I grabbed my book and told her she had no right to touch my stuff. She retorted that I had no right to show off my “condition".

I almost punched her right there and then, but one of the employees got in between us and told me I'd better go out and take a breather. Basically, he kicked me out. A part of me is glad he did because I might have regretted what I would have done otherwise. However, I don't understand why I was the one who had to leave when she was the one who was being rude.

I grabbed my things, went to my car, and drove to a parking lot a bit further to give myself time to calm down. I was so angry and hurt that I was in no state to drive. I then remembered the paper that the second lady had given me. When I looked the number up, I found it was for a conversion camp to “cure” gay people. I ripped the paper and threw it out. I wrote to my best friend, who answered my cry for help, and I'm quite thankful and grateful for her. Now, I'm home safe writing this post.

Don’t get me wrong, despite everything, I still had it good. Everyday, there are people who get shot for being gay and, in Chechnya, there are gay concentration camps. In 2017, the people organising these camps captured approximately 200 gay men and killed around 26. We still have a long way to go before we can say that gay people are accepted. It’s true that things are better in certain countries, but we still have so much work to do. We have it good in Canada, but even in our mostly accepting country, hate still lives.

Being gay is not something to be ashamed of. I am a proud bisexual woman, but bad things happen and there are bad people out there. So, be proud of who you are and don't let these people win. Ignore them and keep being yourself, even if it can be hard to let go of this kind of hate.

I hope that this has never and will never happen to any of you.

Love,

Bi Nerd


P.S. Sorry it took me so long to get this post up. Every time I would try to write and/or read it, I would get all worked up, and then I'd have to put it aside for a few days. So, once again, I’m sorry for the wait.

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* Warning: spoilers for Steven Universe up to and including the episode Reunited (the last episode of season 5) *

Hey Nerds,

Have any of you seen the show Steven Universe? It is probably one of the gayest shows I have ever seen, if not the gayest.  It’s a great show about an alien race made out of gems and a half-gem-half-human kid named Steven Universe. The gems are only female and are created by taking over a planet and draining it of life and resources. One gem named Rose Quartz decided to form a rebellion to save the Earth from the clutches of the Diamonds, the rulers of this alien species.  Along with her followers, the Crystal Gems, she protects our planet and they decide to live here after winning the war. Rose then gives birth to Steven, dying in the process. The remaining Crystal Gems (Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl) take care of and raise Steven with some help from Greg Universe, Steven’s father.

Now that you all know the basics of the show, and hopefully you've all watched it and caught up on season 5, let me tell you about some of my favourite characters in Steven Universe.

One of the things I love about the show is something that gems can do: fusion. On Homeworld, the gems’ original planet, fusion is used between gems of the same kind as a combat tactic. Usually only the gems of the same kind - especially Rubies whose role is to fight and protect - can fuse to create a bigger and stronger version of these same gems. For example, five Rubies will fuse into one giant Ruby. However, one of the Crystal Gems is what is considered an “illegal” fusion as she is actually a Ruby and a Sapphire. Together, they become Garnet, my favourite character. Unlike normal fusions who fuse for strength, she is fused for love. They literally become one and are pretty badass. Plus, just recently, Ruby proposed to Sapphire, and they got married. So, Garnet for the win! ☺️

Another character I personally like is Rose Quartz, who is definitely at least bisexual. She clearly has some love for Pearl and was in love with Greg. Furthermore, according to Pearl, Greg wasn’t the only man Rose has loved. In fact, in a song that Pearl sings about Rose (It’s Over, Isn’t it?), she mentions:  “I was fine with the men who would come into her life now and again…” Rose may not be my favourite character in the show, but she still adds a little bit more representation for the LGBTQ+ community.

Of course, we can’t forget Lapis and Peridot aka Lapidot! They may not be an official couple, however they are so cute together.  In the episode Barn Mates, Peridot tries to befriend Lapis Lazuli but the latter is angry about Peridot keeping her as a prisoner, interrogating and using her. However, later in the episode, Lapis protects Peridot and Steven and then asks Peridot if she is alright. She answers with a huge smile, which makes Lapis blush. Then, in Gem Harvest, Lapidot are found farming vegetables together and they have a pumpkin who is alive and acts like a pet dog and they both try to teach it to talk, which shows that their relationship has gotten a lot better. Finally, in the episode Reunited, Lapis returned to Earth to be with the Crystal Gems and Peridot, which had me crying way too much. Lapis is a sad and depressed character, on top of being insecure and fearful of the Diamonds, but even on the moon, where she was hiding in case the Diamonds came to Earth for revenge, she was keeping an eye on Peridot. So, yes, to me and many other fans of the show, they are a couple. (Bite me if you disagree.)

The last character I want to mention is Pearl. She was left heartbroken by Rose and who, by being so hurt, breaks our hearts. Our very single Pearl who seems to have a lot of scraps of paper with phone numbers saying “call me” because people realise she is a catch. Now that she has a cellphone, will there be some calling these numbers? Maybe even the pink-haired girl who looks like Rose? Hopefully she finds love before I die watching her pine over a dead girl. I love Pearl and I had to put her in here because she adds to the gayness of the show without being too “in-your-face.” She is a normal character who goes on with her day to day alien lifestyle. Yes, there is the occasional mention of Rose where you can see she is clearly heartbroken and still in love with her, but it's still kind of subtle compared to other moments in this show.

Steven Universe is the most openly gay kids show I have watched up to now. Props to Rebecca Sugar for making this show so great for people of all ages. Hopefully, this show can help normalise LGBTQ+ people and content for kids, teens and adults alike, and help people understand us better as a community. Kids enjoying this show at a young age will most likely be more than okay when they hear that their friend has a crush on someone of the same sex in the future. This is one of the reasons why I adore Steven Universe.

Let me know what you guys think about the show!

Love,


Bi Nerd

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P1:     21.

P2:     Early twenties.

P3:    70’s (barely).

P4:    I am in my twenties, 28 to be exact, and fearing the days to my next birthday ‘cause getting older isn’t            as fun as I thought it would be when I was younger haha.

P1:     Pansexual.

P2:     Queer / bisexual.

P3:     Lesbian.

P4:    Pansexual.

P1:     Female.

P2:     I’m non-binary.

P3:     Female.

P4:    Female.

P1:    I found out when I was, like, 11 that I was attracted to girls.

P2:    Oof. I knew I wasn’t straight in high school, though I’ve only recently figured out that I was bisexual (and that bisexuality includes non-binary people). I’ve never felt like I fit into the binary genders; I have vivid memories of looking in the mirror in elementary school and thinking that something went wrong in the womb and that I wasn’t in the right body. I’ve been out as non-binary for around a month now.

P3:     I had some relationships with women when I was at university. When I was 26, I left a 4 year relationship with a man because I figured I would keep getting attracted to women, and I didn’t want to be a married lesbian! It was at the time of the women’s movement.

P4:     I found out I was bi when I was in high school, around 15 or 16 years of age. I began to watch gay porn and found myself more and more interested in it, I also struggled with the feeling of never being complete. I also saw woman as being amazing and beautiful, and felt wrong as a boy. I never loved myself and, some days, I still don’t, but I began to identify as a female about 3 or 4 years ago, right around when I also became pansexual as well.

P1:    When I was working at one of my old jobs, some of the other employees didn’t like the fact that I had a girlfriend.

P2:    Well, I get misgendered a lot, seeing as I’m “female presenting”. It’s made my life a lot more stressful, seeing as gendered bathrooms and fitting rooms are a thing.

P3:     Yes. My father’s still not crazy about it. Work has been OK. It used to be a big deal for me to tell a new friend or coworker about my lifestyle, and some friendships didn’t survive, but lately it hasn’t been a big deal.

P4:    It has: the daily struggle to ask people to call me her and not him, the struggle to feel like I belong, let alone feel like I am girl when I am for the most part dressed down as a boy, especially at work, or also how I would feel if and when people discover I am trans. All of it makes day to day life a bit of a struggle but, like so many, I will survive.

P1:    I didn't really have a coming out experience because my sister came out the year before me. Then, one day we were in a car with my mom, and my friend Wendy said “You really think your daughter is straight?” That's pretty much how it came up that I was bisexual / pansexual.

P2:    It was very low key. A girl I had a crush on had texted me, asking me if I wanted to hang out, and my mom asked me why I was all smiley, and I told her. My mom took a few seconds to process and said “Cool!”

P3:    Illuminating. I was curious about kissing a woman, and then discovered that I wanted to pursue the relationship.

P4:    Odd, not many reacted too harshly to me being bi, except for a friend who figured sitting away from me was a good idea. Coming out as trans, however, created an mix of interesting and expected reactions from anyone and everyone. Some accept it fully, others try to brush it off, and some continue to resist it and even try change my mind even as I write this.

P1:    “Are you sure that you like girls or is it just a phase?”

P2:    Well, I’ve only been in serious relationships with girls up ‘til now, and I’m asked “But would you sleep with a guy?” (which I would and have), or “Ok, but can’t you just pick a gender?” (I have and its non-binary).

P3:    I suppose: “What do you do in bed?”

P4:    “Why?” No joke, the most annoying one I could ever get for either being pan or trans is “why?”. This then descends into the most annoying and botched explanations I can give as I become nervous and unprepared, which then only fuels most people's resistance or lack of understanding.

P1:    I don’t know if I dress stereotypically. I just dress however I feel like that day.

P2:    That’s the thing with non-binary: there isn’t really a typical way to look, or a way to “pass” as non-binary. I suppose a stereotype is an undercut and short hair, which I have.

P3:    I don’t think so, though I am way more casual than the other women in my family.

P4:    That depends on your opinion. I am a cute girl. I am all about my legs, ankles, and feet, all about the heels, short skirts, the light makeup, and cute plastic colored hair ties I wear around my wrists ‘cause they ended up looking cuter that way than in my hair. On the other end, I wear a cowgirl hat, jeans and work in a warehouse where I develop muscles outside of my weekly gym workout, have steel toe boots, no makeup, tied back hair with hair pins to control my curly hair, and shorts that show my legs. All of it can scream tomboy, depending on your view.

P1:    Yes, I am a fan of LGBTQ.

P2:    Ehhhh, I don’t like it when media adds LGBTQ+ people for the sake of a plot point. While I totally get how coming out stories are important to show for closeted people, I just want characters who do their thing and happen to be LGBTQ+. Also, it would be nice if creators stopped killing lesbians.

P3:    Some stuff. I used to be way more into the music scene.

P4:    Depends on how it is portrayed. If done right, sure! I love seeing all of that, though it can create tension between people in that room. For example, a night ago in a crime show my parents were watching, a trans girl was killed. My parents aren’t 100% okay with me being trans, and to have a tv show we are watching make an episode about it, it can and does cause a quiet tension - none of us commented at all on the episode, where as we generally do.Things like that can hit home as it created a very dark feeling. On the upside, seeing gay and lesbian characters, and even trans characters, in anything is always nice, welcoming and warming, because the truth is that we are here, and we are here to stay!

P1:    I like “I Am Jazz,” “Queer Eye,” and Ellen DeGeneres, though I could keep the list going.

P2:    Brooklyn 9-9. “BOOOOOOOONE?!?!??!?!” *

P3:    I liked Ellen when she did the comedy show.

I like the way Instinct portrays the gay couple.

I always like it when there are positive gay characters or moments on mainstream TV. I also enjoyed a bunch of films at Image&Nation, the lesbian and gay film festival, but I haven’t been as often since moving to the West Island.

P4:    The only one that comes to mind, sadly, is “The L Word” and, even then, I’ve only watched two episodes of that. I am don’t watch TV and movies as much as I once did. I am a more of a gamer and writer/reader.

P1:    I never used any dating apps. I actually met my girlfriend because of school.

P2:    I’ve used Tinder with moderate success and ended up making quite a few friends on there, though no romantic relationships have come of it. Most, if not all, of the people I’ve dated I’ve met through friends.

P3:    I met some women at a hiking club, Les Amazones. And I’ve met women at dance clubs or dances. I enjoy going to Club Bolo, a gay line dancing club, though there are way more men than women. I’m not really looking at the moment.

P4:    I am too shy to do any of that, even if I really really want a buddy to share a bed with, if you know what I mean. So, to answer your question properly, the ways stated above are not at all effective for me.

​P1:    Yes, I am in a relationship with my boyfriend. I have known him since high school and he got kicked out of high school when we were in grade 9 and, after 5 years, he showed up at my door and we talked. Three weeks later, we started dating.

P2:    I am a single pringle. :)

P3:   Nope, but I was in one a few years ago for 13 years with a woman I met at a woman’s hiking club (Les Amazones).

P4:    Yes I am, happily actually. I meet my girlfriend in a gaming group for a game we both support and play. Our love flourished slowly and, every day, we realize we are meant for each other more and more.

P1:    Yes. Yes, I do

P2:    For a long time I did, but capitalism is evil and I’m trying to cut back on my purchases.

P3:    No, but I like rainbows! And my nephew gave me a t-shirt from Google with two androids holding hands and carrying a rainbow flag, which I get compliments on!

P4:    Kind of. I do not believe I own anything with an exact rainbow, but I do own a few things with beautiful colors on them.

Wow! Am I the only one who loved reading these, or what? I am glad I did the QQ post once more. It is always so much fun! My only problem is that I'm running out of questions to ask. If you have any questions you would like to be answered in a future QQ, or for any other kind of interview type post, please feel free to send me your suggestions! You can always contact me through my email binerd@outlook.com or by leaving a comment down below.

Love,

Bi Nerd

* Question 10, P2 reference. 

​*Queerbaiting: When a movie or television show suggests that there may be a queer relationship between characters, often to attract LGBTQ+ viewers, but never actually follow through.