Wattpad's Official GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance)

Let's Talk LGBTQ+: Let's Talk WLW

Hello hello hello!! Before you throw rocks at me I wanna tell you guys that I have not been as active as I would've wanted and I've had this interview complete for a while so yeah, you are perfectly valid in throwing rocks at me. BUT!! If I die who's gonna post this???? 

Anyways! The person I'm inteviewing today is BEETLEBRA1NZ on the topic of using the terms WLW and MLM. They were very passionate about this so I'm very excited!!

They also did a wonderful job of summarizing the interview at the end, so if you're a TL;DR person, check out the summarizer in the last question!

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Me: You wanted to do Let's Talk MLM and WLW?

Interviewed: yuppers, and i'm ready for action. ask away!

Me: Okay, first question: Why did you choose this topic?

Interviewed: i personally don't like labels very much because sexuality is fluid to me (and i don't feel like i should have to pick a title) - but i am attracted to guys and i am *also* a guy so i think i can consider myself mlm. wlw and mlm solidarity is important to me bc i think we struggle with some of the same issues so i thought i would be a good interviewee.

Me: Great! To get started, could you explain to everyone who will be reading the interview what MLM and WLW stand for and what they are to you?

Interviewed: mlm = men loving men, wlw = women loving women. as i've stated, i personally identify with mlm. i also have many friends who are wlw and we like to stand together in the face of adversity because we can relate to each other (even tho we're pretty much opposites!) the cool thing about mlm and wlw is that the communities are not exclusive to gay men and lesbians; they also include bisexuals, pansexuals, and pretty much anyone else who is fem and attracted to women/masc and attracted to men. that's another reason why mlm and wlw are so important to me - they're not just gay guys and girls. it's so much more diverse

Me: As a side note, common names for MLM and WLW are also Sapphic and Achillean, right? Or do you know of other terms you want to share?

Interviewed: I'd heard of sapphic, but actually, i didn't know achillean was a term for anything other than greek mythology. that's cool. i've also heard of glg (girls loving girls) rather than wlw. other than that, i don't know any other terms

Me: Interesting! Why do you think MLM and WLW was so popularized?

Interviewed: i think they've become popular because the terms are inclusive to any dude or girl who is attracted to their own gender, whereas lesbian and the classic meaning of "gay" are for *exclusively* being attracted to the same gender. additionally, i think people were probably sick of the word "gay" because it's now used to mean queer people in general. now that "mlm" and "wlw" are popular and commonly used, you can be a little more specific about your attraction

Me: How often do you hear MLM (or Achillean) or WLW (or Sapphic) being used and why do you think this happens?

Interviewed: mostly i hear it from mutuals on the internet instead of in real life, but that's probably because i live in a conservative state. i hear it pretty often, though, and it's usually to describe a person or a group of people