💖
by 
no one deserves to be hated or mocked for who they are or what they like.
that's something i've always believed with my whole heart.
and if you're ever targeted just for being who you are, i'll stand with you every time.
if you're online, you already know there will always be people who like you and people who don't. sooner or later, someone decides they want to hurt you. they twist your words, smear you, or try to turn others against you. it happens to everyone who's been on the internet long enough.
and if you've been through that, you know how awful it feels, that frustration and helplessness when people spread a version of you that isn't real. i've been a victim of that too.
there's something i've always believed in with my whole heart: artists should be free to create whatever they want. i grew up in the 2000s, when people made weird, creative, beautiful things just because they wanted to. that era shaped everything about how i see art, and i want that freedom back. it felt fearless. it felt alive. it felt like real self‑expression.
over the last several years, the anime and gaming world has gotten tense. people argue constantly about what's "acceptable," what's "problematic," what should or shouldn't exist. whenever i see someone trying to force changes onto someone else's creative work, i push back. my issue is always with the behavior, not the person's identity.
online, there are all kinds of people pushing for changes in art, games, and anime. they come from different communities, different beliefs, different motivations. and just like any large group, there's disagreement inside those communities too. not everyone wants the same things, not everyone shares the same beliefs, and not everyone agrees on what "representation" should look like.
when i push back, i'm pushing back at specific individuals or small groups, not entire communities or identities. people are individuals. they deserve to be treated as individuals.
and sometimes i've argued with people who happen to be gay, trans, christian, puritan, or anything else, and in the heat of the moment i might reference something about that specific person or the small group involved. but it's always about them, never the entire community, even if the phrasing comes across as broader than i intended.
i know this because i've seen it up close. i have LGBT friends and followers who've stood by me. we even joke with each other in ways outsiders would find offensive. that's just how some friendships are online.
but i want to be upfront about something, because haters love to twist this part the most. i've used harsh language before. i've made edgy jokes. i've said things in the heat of an argument that were aimed at a specific person who was already being nasty toward me or toward others. that doesn't make every moment ideal, but it does mean the context matters, and that's the part people never show.
it doesn't matter to me what group someone belongs to, what their background is, or how they identify. if someone is being cruel or trying to force their views onto others or onto someone else's art, i'll push back hard. and sometimes that means saying harsh things about that individual or the small group behaving the same way, like the people in the anime and gaming world who try to control how others create or enjoy art.
the truth is my criticism has always been about behavior, not identity. and anyone who's followed me for a while knows that.
i believe everyone has the right to exist, express themselves, and live how they choose. everyone deserves to be treated with love and compassion. while my personal beliefs don't align with every viewpoint out there, that doesn't mean i think anyone should be silenced or erased. people deserve the space to express themselves.
i've had LGBT friends for years who support me. they know my criticism is about actions, not identities. and yes, i've used harsh language before, but it was always directed at a specific individual in a heated moment, never at an entire community. sometimes it was meant to push their buttons, sometimes it was just part of messy online arguments.
there have been moments where i reacted strongly to something someone posted, a piece of art, a take, a comment, and i worded my response in a way that could be misunderstood as a blanket statement. for example, i once replied to someone who was mocking gamers for not wanting established female characters redesigned in ways that stripped away their femininity. he posted a drawing comparing a feminine woman to a woman altered to look more masculine and framed it as if the concerns were ridiculous. i fired back with comments about how women present themselves, along with a line about trans identity that was meant to provoke him, not target an entire community. i can see now how that line could hurt people who weren't involved, especially since many trans people disagreed with his take too.
another time, i quoted a post where a few people in the sonic fandom were drawing sonic with top surgery scars, and i opened my response with a line that generalized that behavior to a group within the trans community, even though i knew not everyone in that community felt the same way or supported what those artists were doing.
moments like these can hurt people who weren't even part of the conversation, and i can own that. sometimes it feels easier to call out an entire group when you're trying to fit everything into a short character limit, but that still doesn't make the phrasing right. my intention has always been to call out a specific behavior or a small group pushing a specific view, not an entire community.
there have been times when i was harsh toward people, but only because they were being nasty first. even so, i don't wanna unintentionally hurt anyone or make them think i dislike LGBT people or any other group when i'm joking around or pushing back hard. going forward, i'm gonna be more careful about how i phrase things.
and that's the truth at the core of all of this: my criticism has always been about behavior, not identity. so if anyone ever tries to claim that i hate LGBT people or any other group, you'll know it isn't true. this post will always be here for anyone who wants to understand where i actually stand.
and honestly, i think it's pretty obvious from how much i love yuri and sweet art of game girls together, and i share it all the time.
thanks for reading, and take care of yourself ♡
~hailey
TLDR
- some people online deliberately twist your words or smear you. it happens to everyone, including me
- i care deeply about artistic freedom and grew up in the 2000s when art felt bold and unapologetic
- in anime and gaming, people are trying to censor things or pressure creators to change their work to fit certain beliefs
- i push back hard when people try to force their views onto others or onto someone else's art
- my criticism is always aimed at specific individuals or behaviors, not entire communities or identities
- i've argued with people who happened to be gay, trans, christian, puritan, or anything else, but it was always about that specific person or small group in the moment, never an entire community
- i have LGBT friends who understand my stance and support me
- sometimes my wording has been harsh or easy to misunderstand or sound like a blanket statement, and i can own that
- i believe everyone has the right to exist, express themselves, and be treated with compassion, even if i don't share every viewpoint
- i don't hate LGBT people or any other group, and honestly, it should be obvious from how much i love yuri and sweet art of game girls together, since i share it all the time
