Please do not speak about this topic if you do not have the perspective to understand it. You clearly know nothing about sex vs gender identity. No one is 'born' a woman. Woman is gender expression. Female is physical sex. Pronouns describe gender expression, not physical sex. You are only born with an assigned biological sex. We as a society decide gender identities and made up arbitrary pronouns to fit the gender expression of those identities. Identities have nothing to do with sex. Some people simply agree with the ones they are assigned at birth, and others do not.
No, it is NOT your right to assume anything about anyone elses identity.
And Yaoi and Yuri is extremely unrealistic. Its unfair for that to be peoples main source of information about gay relationships. Sexualising same sex relationships and treating them as marketable, and yet not fully supporting the rights of ACTUAL people who fit that mold is a huge problem. Representation is ONLY support if the representation is ACCURATE, otherwise its just promoting stereotypes and harming the community.
No, not all BL or GL is bad, but generally, treating homosexuality as a money maker, promoting stereotypes, spreading misinformation, and sexualization of real people is a very bad thing. Yaoi/Yuri culture contributes to that.
Also, queer people voicing their concerns about safety is more important than the reputation of a convention. Check your priorities. I've experienced extreme homophobia at Kumoricon and the staff done nothing to aid it, is that your fault personally? No. Does that mean I don't have the right to be pissed off about it? No. Stop belittling and invalidating people's experiences. You have no idea what happened, don't try to suggest that they weren't experiencing transphobia, homophobia, sexism or discrimination of any kind when you clearly don't know what that experience is like.
As for your question about lesbians, you can't put sexuality in a box, and its really none of your business what kind of pornography people watch.
TLDR; you really don't have the right to be in this forum belittling the concerns and interests of queer people. If you don't like the panel topic then don't come.
You assume that I don't understand the subject because I disagree with you? That's sad. I do understand the subject, as my closest friends, including the woman that provided me with a child, are members of this community. I understand it as an "outsider" better than you give me credit for. Heck, some have said that I am in the community, as well, because of things that I've done, including at this con. Pronouns describe physical sex, too, depending on the pronoun; that's just proper English. However, it is part of why I agree that a panel like this can be a good thing, which you would have figured that out if you read my previous post without hatred.
I do have the right to assume anything about someone's physical appearance upon first encounter. Why? Natural instinct. If I see a human, my brain will process that it is a human. If they appear to be of a particular ethnicity, my brain will process that said human is part of that ethnicity. If they appear to be of a specific gender off of first glance, my brain will process that they are of that gender. It's my right as a human being and as an American. Learning that said person associates them self as something else comes from becoming familiar with them. I have the right to make these assumptions, just as much as I have the right to learn if I'm correct or not. That second one comes from introductions.
Of course YAOI and Yuri is unrealistic. They're both genres of manga (or anime); being unrealistic is more common, and is often (but not mandatory) a part of the appeal. I will only add that it's not just YAOI and Yuri that is incorrectly portrayed for financial gain. It's called a business, one that is designed to appeal to a certain desired fantasy. They do the same thing with us straights, too. We don't complain about it. Why? Because that's how these types of businesses works and we know that it's not an accurate portrayal of what we are. I will, however, agree that anyone who assumes that YAOI/Yuri portray gays correctly needs to get out and meet some people. (Though to be fair, I do know some gay males that act like some YAOI characters, so they aren't 100% off).
I never said that the con's rep is more important that ANYONE'S safety. What I said was that said person needs to understand that the con tries, and has been trying, to accommodate everyone that comes and that they shouldn't insult the con because some attendees might not agree with that lifestyle. I am correct on this. As for your experience, go to a higher-up. I guarantee that the staff as a whole hate that type of treatment, and if they learn that a staff member has disregarded anyone's safety or security, including something "homophobic," they will act. The staffer in particular will be spoken to by a superior. I'm not belittling someone's experience. If you read what I said, I've stated that I don't know the full situation, but also know that it could've been for other reasons. My own experience has taught me that "homophobic" comments aren't such, but cases where someone was easily offended. I've been called homophobic because I've stated that Jim Henson Inc. has confirmed that Bert and Ernie are not, and never have been, gay. Sometimes, it's a misunderstanding, and that I knew nothing more than what was provided; that's all I was stating.
I never made a question about lesbianism, nor did I state that I wanted to know who watched what. I have no idea where you're getting these ridiculous ideas, but please stop accusing me of absurd things.
Finally, I have every right to be in these forums, including this specific thread, if I want to. I can also drop in comments here and there, provided that they are not intended to be harmful. I have not done this, but rather attempted to provide extra insight to make the panel more informative and successful. The panelist/s can take whatever has been provided here and done whatever they want with it, including my contributions. If that includes ignoring my words, they can. You' however, do not have the right to tell me that I can't put in my two cents simply because you disagree with me or THINK that my words are hurtful. If dark4ever was hurt by my words, I will apologize, but only to dark4ever. I was simply trying to be more than a parrot clucking, "I like this idea." Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that, but I wanted to give more than that.
