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I <3 Boys shirts




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Wolverine Princess



Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1100
PostPosted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:20 pm Reply with quote
I see people selling "I <3 Boys With Other Boys" shirts at anime conventions and ads on the inside of DMP's books. Does anyone else think that if real gays saw these shirts that they'd be really offended? I mean, I love BL as much as the next girl, but I'm not going to parade around in cloths that will hurt people's feelings just to show off my "deviant" taste in comics. Even though I'm straight, I know if I saw anyone wearing an "I <3 Lesbians" shirt because they like watching porn I'd knock their lights out. Whenever I pick up a DMP book, I always chuck the dust jacket in the trash because they have ads for this merchandise on the inside flaps. The "I Heart Yaoi" shirts don't bug me at all because those specifically refer to comics and cartoons, but it's totally different when you're talking about homosexuality in general.
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Aizen



Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:08 am Reply with quote
I could see people being offended at those shirts, I mean they kind of make a big statement that I don't think most fans wearing them realize. However I think that people have to realize that some things are just not meant to be offensive. I doubt that, like I said, most people wearing those shirts really consider the kind of message their sending out, I think they're just really hyper fans and I think whoever takes it as an offense should consider that the person wearing the shirt might not have thought about how others might react. However, I know my oppinion may not matter as much because I'm not gay, but I wanted to say it anyway so sorry if I have offended anyone, I wasn't trying to.
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cyrax777



Joined: 05 Mar 2003
Posts: 1825
Location: the desert
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:09 am Reply with quote
reminds me back in HS and I saw a guy with a shirt that had a parody of the trix rabbit on it and it said "silly faggot dicks are for chicks"

I like the shirt I used to have "shh no one knows im a lesbian"

yes I am a guy but i thought it was funny.
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selenta
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Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 1774
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:11 am Reply with quote
I'm speaking from absolutely no experience here but here's what I'll offer:

For one, I'd imagine it's a bit of a double standard like most things that have to do with sexuality are. ex. Just like girls are generally expected by society to be "prim and proper" guys are generally expected to be "players". Advertising lesbians in public is pretty tacky (as far as I can tell, it's because it is such a universal thing among guys Rolling Eyes ) and any guy who would wear a t-shirt with "I <3 Lesbians" would be considered an ass (I know I would think so). But for some reason when girls have exactly the same thoughts about guy on guy action, I don't find it nearly as crude, maybe that's just me Confused

I'd imagine another part of your exact examples I'd keep in mind is the connotations of the words. "I <3 Boys with other boys" isn't exactly the same as saying "I <3 Guy on guy action", or "I <3 Lesbians" doesn't exactly come out the same as "I <3 Yuri" even though you're mostly talking about the same thing.

EDIT: God, I suck at grammer.
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Steventheeunuch





PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:35 am Reply with quote
That'd depend. There's a big difference between 'gay people' and 'people who give a shit what other people wear'. So long as it's not 'I <3 gays and niggers are cotton picking chicken eater witches' then it really shouldn't matter. People like to wear clothing and as stupid as it is, it's entirely their right.
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hanachan01



Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:48 am Reply with quote
I wouldn't know, but if you're going to buy a shirt like that, one that specifically says 'Yaoi' or something is probably better. My 'Yaoi-my anti-drug' shirt rocks!
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selenta
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Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 1774
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:17 am Reply with quote
yeah, i'm gonna agree with hana. No matter what, it would almost definately go over better with all involved if you use one of the jargon words. That way if they don't know what it means they can't get offended and if they DO know what it means they know the context and are far less likely to offended (not to mention the KIND of people that would know what a yaoi doujinshi is are most likely to be the kind of people tolerant and accepting of what it is)(i.e. I might accept it, but my conservative dad might not Rolling Eyes )
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unhealthyman



Joined: 20 Jun 2006
Posts: 306
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:33 am Reply with quote
Isn't the whole point of the "I <3 Boys With Other Boys" t-shirt for the smug enjoyment in non-anime fans completely not getting why you're wearing it, so you can feel superior?

Why wear a Yaoi shirt, if the vast majority of people wont even know what you mean at all?

As I see it there is nothing offensive to gay people in the first shirt really, however whether you want to wear it or not depends on whether you want to risk the consequences - think of the reactions from some people...
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hanachan01



Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:05 am Reply with quote
unhealthyman wrote:
Isn't the whole point of the "I <3 Boys With Other Boys" t-shirt for the smug enjoyment in non-anime fans completely not getting why you're wearing it, so you can feel superior?

Why wear a Yaoi shirt, if the vast majority of people wont even know what you mean at all?

As I see it there is nothing offensive to gay people in the first shirt really, however whether you want to wear it or not depends on whether you want to risk the consequences - think of the reactions from some people...


If you want to put it like that, I think that you should enjoy wearing the shirt if you want to be smug because you and the anime fans who see it are one of the few "elite" who know what it means.
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Krylancelo



Joined: 04 Jun 2006
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 12:37 pm Reply with quote
hanachan01 wrote:
unhealthyman wrote:
Isn't the whole point of the "I <3 Boys With Other Boys" t-shirt for the smug enjoyment in non-anime fans completely not getting why you're wearing it, so you can feel superior?

Why wear a Yaoi shirt, if the vast majority of people wont even know what you mean at all?

As I see it there is nothing offensive to gay people in the first shirt really, however whether you want to wear it or not depends on whether you want to risk the consequences - think of the reactions from some people...


If you want to put it like that, I think that you should enjoy wearing the shirt if you want to be smug because you and the anime fans who see it are one of the few "elite" who know what it means.


Haha yeah I know what you mean. I want a shirt like that now because noone would know what it means, except my friends who would laugh everytime they see me in it, which would be great lol.
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