#ronnie ritchie
Think Bisexual+ People Have Straight Passing Privilege? Here’s Why You’re Mistaken
Bisexual+ people may not be perceived as queer if they’re datingsomeoneperceived asthe“opposite” of their gender – so does that mean they have straight passing privilege?
You might think so, but try considering the perspective in this comic for a more nuanced answer to this question. It’s a breakdown of the assumptions behind the idea of bisexual+ “straight passing privilege” – and the harm you cause by erasing people’s identities when you make these assumptions.
It’s possible to acknowledge that different queer folks have different experiences without erasing anyone.
- Bisexual+, Biromantic+ (Bi+ for short) is the commonly used “shorthand” for the entire Non-Monosexual Community including but not limited to: Bisexual/Biromantic, Ambisexual, Flexisexual, Fluid, Heteroflexible/Homoflexible, Multisexual, No Labels, Omnisexual, Pansexual, PoMosexual, Polysexual, Sapiosexual, Queer, and so many more.
- Bisexuality is the attraction to more than one gender, or to genders similar to- and different from- one’s own.
- Bisexual Erasure, Bisexual Invisibility is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, news media and other primary sources. In its most extreme form, bisexual erasure can include denying that bisexuality exists. It is often a manifestation of conscious and/or unconscious biphobia and/or monosexism.
- Straight Passing, Hetero Passing, etc. is all those things you get just by being, acting, or appearing straight. Conversely, straight privilege is all those things you lose when you are, act, or appear as queer. Becasue hetrosexuality is (inncorectly) seen as the “default” state, it means that all people are initially assumed to be “straight” unless they do something to actively signal they are queer, ie dress, mannerisms, coming out, wearing pins, badges, t-shirts, jewelry, etc.
- Trans Erasure,Non-Binary Erasure, etc, is the tendency to ignore, deny, or minimize the existence of trans, androgynous, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, NB, etc. people. It is often a manifestation of conscious and/or unconscious cisexism and/or transphobia.
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For those who missed last week, I’m going to be posting some comics about the roadtrip to Colorado I took this summer! This week we reach day 2 of driving, where I tell you all of the interesting things and you assume that literally everything else was just corn fields.
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I’m trying something a little different with GQutie for a bit and diving into a kind of travelogue of the trip Drew and I went on to Colorado. The style will be similar to what I did for hourlies, on the rough side but with more content.
Please enjoy this little adventure as it unfolds!
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For those of you who don’t know, I was diagnosed with ADHD roughly a year ago. Since then, as it is for a lot of people who aren’t diagnosed until adulthood, there is a lot of hindsight-is-20-20 moments where you suddenly understand behaviours you’ve had when/since you were a kid.
ADHD is usually characterized as difficulty self-regulating, leading to things like outbursts, restlessness, impulsiveness, etc. I had learned how to self-regulate, but only by shutting EVERYTHING down. I knew I wasn’t supposed to talk in class, so I said nothing, but when I knew I was allowed to talk, I basically said anything and everything on my mind.
To summarize it, my brain has an on/off switch when most people have dimmer switches! Tbh, getting to better understand that is quite a relief!
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Basically, gender and sexuality is WEIRD, y’all.
(Note: a lot of the back and forth definitely happened before I started really growing out my beard, so maybe having my “current” look in the first panel isn’t quite accurate.)
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(The first song to the tune of “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher, the last song to the tune of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony (the iconic first movement))
Drew and I have lots of silly names and songs for our pets, and I think Bean has the most out of everyone. His name just fits in so nicely with so many ditties! I’m hoping to expand on this series, because I mean it when I say we have names and songs for ALL our animals.
I know a lot of folks are underpracticed in terms of drawing sound and music, and I’m no exception! I feel like I at least got the silliness/obnoxiousness across, though. <3
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It feels good to have a comic up again!! Thanks everyone for your patience while life gets in the way yet again, and fingers crossed I can get into the swing of things again!
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I know that pressure is a common calming factor for neurodivergent folks like me, but also for some reason just laying face down is a funny image to me.
I want to bring some of the stories about me and my brain as GQutie continues, since that has been a huge part of my life, especially for the past four years. I have depression, anxiety, ADHD, and history as a survivor of child abuse, and all of those things affect the day-to-day as much as my gender does.
Of course, this isn’t going to change the tone of the comic! It’s just a continuation of the way I’ve been expanding GQutie beyond topics of gender exclusively.
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Yesterday I had the joy of doing some Live Drawing documentation of Peterborough’s LGBTQ+ Task Force Community Forum.
The Task Force is a network of LGBTQ+ professionals in the community who want to “foster a spirit of inter-sectorial (e.g. health, education, business, law enforcement, volunteer and support services) collaboration and multidisciplinary participation in initiatives that advocate for, develop and promote a sustained culture of opportunity, equity and inclusivity for individuals of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions (LGBTQ) in the City and County of Peterborough.”
The event itself called out to the LGBTQ community at large to talk about what they want and need in their lives. There were lots of notes taken, of course, but my job was to document some of the images and emotions as well as what was said.
You can learn more about the LGBTQ Task Force on their FacebookandTwitterprofiles!
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It has been a busy couple weeks! TCAF was just last weekend, and in addition to my usual work load, I wanted to make a mini to give away (as I didn’t table this year).
Erin and Fran are a couple characters from the one time in university I was like “hey what if I just random gen some D&D characters and run with it,” and they show up in my art every once in a while. After reading a bunch of GORGEOUS fantasy comics with pretty scenery, I plucked Erin and Fran from my stockpile once more so I could draw a short story with lots of wide shots and mountains and stuff.
The final mini is two sheets of legal size paper each folded in this super easy fashion and then bound with a string of twine. It was a little stressful towards the end (always add more time to a project than you think you need, folks!) but I really enjoyed it, and I hope I get to do more fun fiction comics in the future. <3
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✨ TABLETOP COMMISSIONS!!✨
Do you love tabletop rpgs? I would love to draw your characters! Get a cute portrait for your character sheet, a full body drawing, or even your whole team!
All offers include flat colours OR grey marker:
- Portrait,$30
- Full body, $45
- Team of 5 or less, $60
Just the line work is $10 off each offer.
Extra cost:
- Complicated armour (ex: the scale mail and leather is simple, but the plate armour or the gauntlets would be complicated)
- Dynamic poses
- Teams larger than 5
✨Feel free to message me if you’re interested, or if you have any questions!✨
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Binders are getting cuter everyday, but there’s still cool open cuts and pretty bralettes that make me sad that my chest is as big as it is (and it isn’t very big tbh!) :’D If my dysphoria wasn’t such a jerk I’d be running around in all of those all the time.
Also, while it’s true that the binder in the picture isn’t suitable for swimming (the pretty fabric makes it too stiff), Drew would like to inform you all that the REAL reason why I don’t swim is because I’m a weenie and don’t want to go in the water. ;P
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I drew this comic because I didn’t know the side effects of binding long term (even when done safely) until I was experiencing them.
Surprise! It can aggravate heart burn, put your ribs out of alignment, and permanently reduce your lung capacity. :’D
This is only one of many reasons why I wish top surgery was more accessible!
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We recently lost one of our rats (Mercury), so the fuzzy family who are no longer in my life were on my mind. I wanted to draw something nice for them and tell a little bit of their stories. There’s still fun facts I couldn’t fit on here, so maybe we’ll get a flashback sometime. <3
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This week we have a story I’ve been meaning to tell for a while, which is the story of Styx the Kitten Who Eats Everything.
That cactus has since died, but it was in rough shape when we inherited it, and it turns out that cacti are actually pretty delicate. :’D Drew gave me a covered terrarium for Valentine’s so I can have some desk plants that the cats won’t eat.
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(NOTE: yes yes “both” is somewhat inaccurate. I just wanted the pun!)
If you all follow me on Twitter, you might have gotten a taste of this. I just have been doing a silly thing where I go back and forth on whether or not I’m this or that sexuality when it’s fine to just chill!
I mean, between the ways that sexual and romantic attraction and gender identity and gender expression cross over AND are completely separate and different things depending on the person (which is why even saying I’m “masc-leaning” is a fairly meh way of explaining it), it’s really easy to be unsure! I still like Pan best, but I don’t need to stress out about my fluctuating certainty, lol.
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At last, the Summer, Fall and Winter ‘16 postcards have been printed and shipped to patrons! I don’t usually get to do fun, colourful illustrations like these anymore, so the support of my patrons has been a great gift in terms of making art that I enjoy the whole way through <3
If you join my Patreon for $5+ a month, you too can get cool postcards like this every season! Every little bit of support has done a lot to help me out!
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This summer was a really sweaty one, and I didn’t realize that it had repercussions until recently! I basically got the equivalent of athlete’s foot except on my tum, so now my doctor has me rubbing tea tree oil on my spots and Drew keeps making jokes about how I’m a real fun guy.If you can, please consider supporting me onPatreon so I can make more art!
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This comic is kind of a sequel to last week’s. I am happy with my fuzz, but there is a lot of conversation that comes up with it. I have a pending referral for an endocrinologist, but it’s not for a while, and I’m trying to just embrace that sometimes people are hairy! It doesn’t need to be for any reason that is known or makes sense.
One of my favourite stories about transitioning while hairy is by Sabah Choudrey, and you can read it here!
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This week we have a short timeline of my relationship with my face fuzz, ending where we are today! I feel like I sort of dodged a bullet in terms of where my plucking was going, and I’m happy that I get to experiment with how I express myself using what my face grows on its own. c:
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Drew has supported my shenanigans for sure, but GQutie has had yet to show just how many shenanigans Drew also gets up to. :DIf you can, please consider supporting me onPatreon so I can make more art!
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This week we have the origin story of Styx, the newest addition to the household. We were worried that it would be weird having another cat so soon after Tibi’s passing, but it’s actually went really well!…Except for the part where she got sick and had to spend half of her first week with us at the vet’s.
But for real, she’s doing great now! And we’re doing great, too.
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AND WE’RE BACK! The week I had off from GQutie went better than I could have imagined! I made lots of art and did lots of work cleaning up the apartment, including my new office! That’s right, I actually have a desk and a chair that don’t hurt my back!!This week’s comic is a reference to my well-known Mongoose comic. I totally think you can identify as whatever forest creature you like, I just personally like opossums as I, too, play dead when I’m scared. :’D They, along with vultures, are also largely immune to rabies and help remove virus from the environments they scavenge in!
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I’ve been trying to hold on, but I’m totally swamped, y’all. I’ve had lots of additional work, I hurt my back again, and I’m starting new medication. And that’s after the whirlwind of July and the beginning of August!BUT, this isn’t a hiatus! I’m just taking a week (two at most) to build a little bit of buffer so I can handle the nonsense that life seems to keep handing me.
As always, please consider donating onPatreon, since more donations means less time working on things that aren’t comics!
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Hey, everyone! I only missed a week, but it’s still so good to be back.
For this comic I want to assure you that it’s totally cool that you did that One Embarrassing Thing in front of That One Cool Person, because I’ve totally done it too. :’D
In other news, hey it’s my birthday on Thursday!! I’m turning 24 this year, which I’m sure is really old for some of you and really young for others of you. Regardless of where you are though, y’all are pretty awesome. <333
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Being a trans and mentally ill/ neurodiverse immigrant in Canada is full of nervous “what-ifs”. After talking with my doctor though, it seems I don’t have much to worry about. The main difference between my case and the case of the kid with Down’s is that my mental health and gender didn’t come up on the required physical exam for my permanent residence app (I’m sure not being on hormones helped), whereas his did.I’m doing as well as I am in Canada (Ontario) because I am white and middle class with a white and middle class spouse, no doubt. Everyone else is at risk for denial at best and indefinite detention at worst. (CW: link contains description of abuse at immigration detention centres)
But that doesn’t stop the process from being stressful, ugh.
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This week’s comic is some recreations of photos Drew and I have taken in the past few months. I didn’t realize until I was flipping through them that we actually take a LOT of silly selfies.
You could say we….
….can’t keep a straight face
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A slightly more narrative comic is up this week! I wish supporting the mental health of students was a greater consideration in schools (and also that schools were less of a deciding factor in peoples’ well being in life, but yanno). I had SOME awareness that this was happening when I was still in university, but a lot of the bigger picture is only just starting to sharpen now, two years after graduation! And I’m still FAR from convincing any older adults in my life that “bad students” aren’t failing so much as society is failing them.If you can, please consider supporting me onPatreon so I can make more art!
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Only a minor update today. Drew and I recently lost one of our cats, Tibi. She’s had a lot of struggles, and we suspected she wouldn’t live as long as a lot of cats, but we didn’t think it would be so soon or so sudden.I miss her, and I’m really sad that none of y’all will get to meet her. EVERYONE who met her loved her right away, and she was a big fan of the attention. The only comic she showed up in was the one I posted a couple weeks ago. Still, she’s a big part of my life and will probably show up in future comics.
Thanks for the love, Tibi. I hope you liked all the pets. <3
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This week we have a little bit of angst. I tend to cope with stress by playing a video game or something else that’s not related to the stressy thing, but I also really like snuggling our animals (when they want to be snuggled, anyway).
I hope you all get to touch a cute animal today, and remember that you can totally live like there will be a tomorrow. <3
(PS: I totally love GQutie and my other comics work, I’ve just been itching to draw other things as well and I’m occasionally fussy about not being able to do it IMMEDIATELY RIGHT NOW)
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I’ve mentioned my pudge a couple times in this comic, and I’ve only continued to slowly but steadily gain weight since then. It’s of course brought to my attention all of the fatphobia that had been seeded in me since forever, but it’s also brought tiny joys as well! I have entertained myself lots of times just poking and jiggling all around in the mirror, and I highly recommend it!You can read a more in-depth comic about how I personally address my feelings around my body in this comic. <3
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[NOTE: I wasn’t able to find the specific technique that I was suspended with, so this is just pieced together from other ones I found. Please don’t use this as a reference for safe suspension!! Do your research/practice on consenting parties/always have safety scissors on hand/etc.]
I haven’t been all that involved in the BDSM community since moving to Peterborough for a variety of reasons (sigh), but this is still a fond memory and it’s great to see the reactions!
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Guess what! YEP, IT’S MORE PET COMICS! Sheppard is one of our two cats, the being Tibi. Sheppard looks like a tiny panther when he’s relaxing, but really he’s a giant baby and gets startled easily.If you can, please consider supporting me onPatreon so I can make more art!
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(Note: this conversation didn’t actually happen, being frustrated at a Service Ontario clerk wouldn’t have changed my situation XP)To elaborate on the story, everyone in Ontario has access to the province’s insurance (OHIP), which is great! Except as an immigrant, I don’t have access to the insurance until I’m either granted permanent residence (which takes about three years in my case) or I can prove that I’m working full time. I was recently able to provide that proof, but that was only after two years uninsured and unable to work until Drew and I payed to treat my depression out of pocket.
So yeah, I’m a little frustrated that in order to get the health care I needed to work, I needed to work to get the health care I needed….
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Sorry for putting this up fairly late in the day! I didn’t catch con crud from TCAF but I’m still pretty tuckered out from it.I haven’t listened to a lot of musicals recently, so I had forgotten why I banned myself from listening second acts while working. Hamilton reminded me. :’)
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GQutie has had a big part in practicing self-love, by drawing the parts of me I don’t like until I slowly grow to enjoy them. But my dislike of my voice is still the hardest to address, partly because it’s in the grey area of maybe-dysphoria-maybe-not.
To translate my silly academic feminist jargon, I feel like I sound gross when I speak really fast/with a high pitch (usually when I’m really excited), but that kind of voice is pooped on a lot by society so no wonder. :P Hopefully I’ll feel better about it someday.
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Of course, “beau” is a loanword and has different meaning in American/Canadian English, but I couldn’t resist the joke! Though, as I get a better handle on French, I’m definitely interested in looking into nonbinary francophones and what they do regarding pronouns, etc.(A comic about how I use “beau”.)
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