Growing up in a traditional Chinese household, I heard those around me talk badly about the LGBTQIA+ community before I even grasped the concept of identity. To further this, I was sent to a Christian private school for the entirety of my elementary and middle school years. The one detail that drastically altered my perception of sexuality is my parent’s ignorance towards unrestricted internet use. 

I actually came across the world of LGBTQ long before someone I valued called a gay couple disgusting to my face, before my fifth grade teacher sat our entire class down and told us to repent our sins to god if we dared like the same gender. I think it is because of this early exposure, that I did not grow into the same people that surrounded me. 

During quarantine, although it is a privilege to speak so lightly about those times, I was given a chance to explore who I was. Looking back, the online community was at a high of open mindedness and LGBTQ content frequented the media I consumed. My first conscious (and remembered) exposure was those Gacha Life mini movies on YouTube that starred often lesbian characters. Maturing a bit since then, anime was the first and probably only medium I still consume to this day that threw open the gates of sexuality for me. Watching characters go through the same thoughts and experiences that I had, I began starting to label and feel understood in what had followed me around all my previous years, able to finally form a sense of identity. 

As environment I was situated in was discouraging to say the least, I began to find comfort in the idea that there were people like me out there. I had discovered, that consuming media like anime was the best way for me to find that validation. 

I hope other youth are able to find that same comfort through anime, and through this blog. I would like to first establish that this is a safe space for discussion and a place where anyone can feel validated for who they are. `