Random thing I noticed

[fedevelutini]

I noticed that a lot of people on tapastic were non-hetero, so I decided to do a little study. I looked at creators posts, read comments etc., and I got an average of 75% non-hetero (gay, bi, demi, etc.). This is a rough estimate, so it's not exact. I started thinking why there are so many non-heteros in a world where most are heteros, and I came up with a theory. We non-heteros (I'm bisexual) need a place to hide. Nobody irl understands us, so we come here. And it's not just non-heteros that come here, it's just anyone who's different than the norm. Non-binaries, emos, furries (like myself), etc. Please don't get pissed if you are "different" and you don't think you are here to take shelter. Like I said, i'm a bi furry, so I understand.

[BubooSenchan]

Actually there is a study that proves that all women are busexual in some way, because 1000 of the1000 women (doesn't matter if the said that they were heterosexual) got exited when they saw lesbian porn. xd

[heterodont]

While that may be the case for some people, it's also because peoples sexualities aren't out in the open in real life - how can you really tell if someones heterosexual? (ignoring the obvious, mind you) it's much easier to be open about your sexuality online vs offline, because there isn't much of a risk where your life can potentially be put in danger - say if you live in a more conservative area, so some people pretend to be straight so they don't run the risk of discrimination.

the internet is small in comparison to the real world, not to mention it's miles easier to find people who share or understand what you go through - which is why often times LGBT folk flock together online (even offline!), it's not really limited to tapastic.

[shazzbaa]

I mean, it may be a place to hide for some, but for others it's just... a place where people have a voice, no matter what? I hear from disabled folks a lot more online than I do IRL, but that's mostly because IRL there are soooo many boundaries for a disabled person trying to make their voice heard, not because disabled people are hiding from life in brickspace. They're still there; I'm just not hearing them.

Plus I mean, there's gonna be an inherent bias to what people are gonna bring up. People who are straight or cis are used to that being the assumed default, and some might not feel a need to say so definitively like a queer creator might.

And yeah, like heterodont said, the internet definitely encourages people to kind of congregate towards others who have similar outlooks -- if you were on, say, a fan forum for CTRL+ALT+DEL, I'd be willing to bet your ratio would look different!

Like I said, i'm a bi furry, so I understand.

Everyone's experience is different, even people who have things in common! One person who's bi might turn to the internet as an escape and shelter from a world that doesn't understand them; another person who's bi might have a really supportive family and friends IRL, and turn to the internet as a way to fight to support others who are struggling. And the LGBT umbrella covers so many different experiences..... we may have something in common, but we won't all necessarily have the same motivation.

[AnnaLandin]

Well, your study has a bit of a skewed sample-size, to be honest.

Only a small number of Tapastic-creators are active on the forums, not all of the active creators do creator-posts, and I doubt you've been able to go through every single comic on Tapastic to double-check. So what you're left looking only at the people who are actively posting here on the forums or actively doing creator-posts on the main website, and that's only a fraction of the user-base. You can't really draw solid conclusions based on a fraction of us and how we behave.

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of LGBTQ+ creators here, but your study-sample is unlikely to be representative of the site's user-base as a whole.

Also, your view of it gets skewed because hetero creators are less likely to be vocal about their sexual orientation - simply because they don't have to. Hardly anyone goes around saying "Hi, I'm straight!" - because straightness is assumed to be the default. Whereas non-hetero/LGBTQ+ people are more likely to mention their orientation (in a place like this, where mentioning it is less risky), because their orientation/gender identity is something other than the assumed norm.

Birds of a feather might flock together here, but there's also the contributing factor that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to inform others of their orientation/gender id, because if they don't, they're assumed to be hetero, basically.

We non-heteros (I'm bisexual) need a place to hide. Nobody irl understands us, so we come here.

While it's true that LGBTQ+ folks might find it easier to be vocal about their orientation online than in real life, I'd hesitate to claim that all of us are in a situation where "nobody irl understands". While I haven't exactly crunched the numbers on this, I'm fairly certain that my IRL social circle has as many LGBTQ+ people as it has hetero people, for example.

[Kayke]

Yeah I think your numbers are probably off. Like others said, straight people don't really announce that they're straight, so if you were just skimming for mentions of orientation you're going to see more people who feel the need to define themselves as something other than the culturally assumed cis-straight.

And it also depends on the types of comics you were looking at. I think we tend to get caught up in our own bubbles sometimes. When I'm on twitter or talking to friends I can get into this mode of thinking where I'm like 'wow look at all of us queer creators, there's so many of us!' but then I remember that isn't necessarily the community as a whole, those are just the people I've grouped off with. I'm sure if there were a way to actually calculate this data it would average out and be similar to that of the general population.

And I agree that the "nobody irl understands me" is kind of a small blanket to try to fit all LGBT people under. I feel sad for the people who feel that way and I'm glad they think of Tapastic as a sheltering place... but I don't think that everyone in 2017 feels they need to hide on the internet.

[APM]

I don't know if it has a relation with the authors sexual orientation, but mostly popular comics here seems to be BLs (Boys Love), so maybe you're "looking only at the people who are actively posting" and have popular comics (as Anna said).
For sure there's a lot of LGBTQ+ creators in Tapastic, but also there's people like me (I'm straight :P) who doesn't feel need in telling my orientation since it's "assumed to be the default". Besides that, I agree that people feel more safe to be open online (that's why I use Twitter...)

PS: I'm not a furry, but I really do like the art from the community xD

[Mikayi]

I'm on here sometimes but I get really busy and tend to not really post as much as I used to. Are the samples only coming from the forums? it's interesting though I have to admit. Although I will admit that for me it's easier to get along with people in places like this because of the same interest or discussions that pop up, it's more towards conversations I can get involved in. And it's nice to have people around that understand the different sexual preferences and not be singled out.

I'm Asexual-Aromantic, which makes people not know how to talk to me because of that. it's really sad, I've even been told on one or more occasions they can't talk to me about certain things because of that. But not only that it's the conversations I like having vs. the ones that happen around me.

This of course has nothing to do with the comics I draw. Which tends to be awkward demented stories somewhat bl centered.

So I enjoy it here I think more because similar interests and views.

[Devika]

I'm pretty sure that's a skewed survey, because as Anna said, heteros almost never have a reason to state their "hetero-ness". Thus you have almost only non-heteros stating their orientation. I'm sure that we have a high number of LGBTQ folks here though, because it's an inclusive community.

[tayo_rafferty]

That's not really how studies work. They don't "prove" things they merely indicate or show certain things. That's why people use the phrase "studies show" or "a recent study indicates" rather than "a study has proven." I guarantee there are women out there who are 100% straight and women that are 100% gay, it is possible. Not for me apparently, though I am not a woman I am also not 100% straight.

Edit: I'm not trying to criticise but I think people are starting to rely a lot more on "studies" and anecdotal evidence when making very large assertions and conclusions about society and our species. It really worries me.

[timinabox]

huh? I'm gay and I'm more "different" form people on this site than poeple in real life O_O
I think you got some things confused here O_O

[Herofeeder]

bi furry..say thats a new breed

[ChipGod]

I'm straight and I just like comics

[ChipGod]

Was that an intentional pun

[Herofeeder]

you can use it in the comic if you want to

[indagold]

I got an average of 75% non-hetero (gay, bi, demi, etc.)

Is there statistics I don't know on this site?

We non-heteros (I'm bisexual) need a place to hide

I dunno man after finding out how toxic the LGBT community can be after coming out I don't know where to hide anymore lol

Nobody irl understands us, so we come here

Not everyone lives in an evangelical wasteland. I mean we are living in a modern world. I haven't been lynched yet by anyone.

Non-binaries, emos, furries

Yeah that's not the same thing at all. One is a choice one isn't.

I'm confused by this post.

[ChipGod]

i just might, that was good

[Pleaki]

Mmmm it's really difficult to say just how many members are LGBT+ based on what you see alone. Though I do think that many LGBT, especially young LGBT, tend to use websites like tapastic as a platform to share their work. I mean, seeing how difficult it is to get some proper representation in the professional comic/cartoon world, places like tapastic are really great for LGBT creators to share stories with LGBT characters since it functions like social media and has a higher chance of being found by LGBT readers. (I mean, I know that's what I'm doing at least!)

A study that could offer even remotely accurate results would require there to be a site-based poll of some sort and something like that may come off as a bit invasive. It is an interesting thought, though.

[Merle]

I can gurantee this is wrong. I am a woman and 100 percent straight. I was pretty open troughout my youth but I feel absolute no sexual attraction to my own gender
Also, getting excited over lesbian porn doesn´t really prove anything in the first place. If I am a women and get excited about Gay Porn (with men), what am I then? A gay man in a womens body? Well, I guess that has to excist as well, but basicly most sexual action that you watch and don´t find repulsive will bet you arroused

[infectedbloodcomics]

@pearl1 I've read these studies "proving" that women are aroused by seeing women having sex. My best guess is that they were shown porn, which, as we all know, has absolutely nothing to do with lesbian sex, given that the women taking part in it are obviously straight women looking disgusted at each other at all times - but then, again, all straight porn is made for straight guys.

Back on topic: I find the webcomic community in general to be dominated by extremely vocal youngsters in general, because they need to build bridges and find their own place in the world, because they are still trying to understand who they are, and because many readers are young. Older people tend to worry much less about that, because they either already have some established job/fanbase and/or they are completely baffled by the webcomic community and/or they just don't have time to "waste" on this (real life is much better). Mind you, this is a simple conclusion from personal experience. You should make a serious study to figure out how things work here, especially given that people come and go. One thing I did notice is that the community has slowed down forum activity immensely over the past year or so. It was nearly impossible to follow a single thread, for how intensely people posted. I don't know exactly why (I have my own theories, of course), but I think it's a normal part of all forums, and it's something to be kept in mind - less activity means a less clear picture of who is part of the community, silently or vocally, in the end.

As for LGBT people, I belong to the L, but I have absolutely nothing in common with the (mostly young) people who declare themselves queer. I don't understand all this aromantic/asexual/demisexuul/agender/trigendered/boltgendered community, it makes absolutely no sense to me, but I understand it's currently a big and loud thing in certain quarters, and it's spilled over into the webcomic world.

In conclusion: you are only hearing vocal people in the forum. As for who they are, you need to do a real study, and not just look at anecdotal evidence.