What boys will be bugs chords?
Boys will be bugs chords is a site that interviews and profiles queer young boys, who are often cast in cisgender roles. The site exposes these boys to the idea of what masculinity could look like outside of the current society’s norms for males, which is typically defined as cisgender. With only 24 hours left to go until the site’s launch, we sat down with Boys Will Be Bugs’ creator to talk about the site and its impact on future generations.
The creator started by describing his experience finding stories for their website in a similar way that many people find content online: by Googling things. He conducted research by reading articles that discussed queer male experiences, then started asking himself “What would be cool? What’s a weird thing to be interested in?” This ultimately led him to the idea of interviewing queer young boys. “I kept seeing these photos of cisgender people holding hands and thought, ‘That’s odd,’ then I realized that when you don’t conform to normative gender roles, you don’t really know what a hand looks like,” said the creator.
Some more facts:
The creator has been involved with the LGBTQ community for most of his life, so he decided to approach this new venture in a way that followed his own interests: as an activist and ally. “I want young queer guys to know that I care about them and will be there for them,” he said. The site’s content is also an opportunity for him to connect with these boys and other queer folks, a way that non-straight folks don’t often have access to. “A lot of our donors and supporters have been amazing,” he said, explaining that he has been able to connect with both “queer people of color who really need this content” and those who are more identifying as straight.[1]
What inspired him?
When asked what inspired him to start Boys Will Be Bugs in the first place, the creator mentioned it was largely due to his personal experiences: “Our society focuses on ‘normative’ masculinity. Media especially focuses on cisgender heterosexual masculinity, which isn’t cool. It’s just … not.” When asked what he’d like people to take away from his website, he said that he would like viewers to “have their eyes opened. I want them to pay attention, get out of their bubble, listen and learn.” The creator also explained that the main mission of his project is make sure this generation knows that there are alternatives: “I want them to know that they have options and a society outside of ours is possible.”
The creator has a background in marketing and public relations and initially wanted to use this experience for his own personal gain. “As a kid, I was always writing these creative campaigns for my parents, just to see if my ideas would work. It never did, so I figured I’d do that here.” He also said he was impressed by the fact that the site is financially self-sustaining. “I can run this without outside help,” he said.
What are the benefits?
When asked, the creator said that he believes Boys Will Be Bugs “will be a cool experience for our readers.” He also explained that the site is important in terms of visibility and representation. “If you want to see what your future could look like, you talk to people who are already doing it,” he said. He has a variety of different educational and entertainment content planned on his website. “We’ll have interviews, short stories about living as queer boys today, an advice column that gives queer kids access to a queer mento. I’m excited for this great platform to get all kinds of content into young people’s hands. I want to support queer people of color and trans people in particular. It’s not cool to invalidate our identities.”
When asked what he would like the future to look like, the creator replied that “we need a paradigm shift.” He explained that “right now, it seems like there’s not much room for people who are non-normative. You get in trouble for being a non-straight person or a person of color. We need to build cultures where those identities are accepted and respected.” He also discussed his goal of creating a society where trans and gender non-conforming youth have access to spaces that support their identity, as well as finding spaces outside of government institutions (such as hospitals) where they can be safe.
Are there any drawbacks?
The creator and his team have already received a lot of positive feedback. Although, he mentioned that some people have made assumptions about the website and its content based on its name. “A lot of people assume it’s going to be another ‘gay man’s paradise,’ when really, we just want to show that this is what queer lives look like.” When asked what he’d like to see for the future of his project, he said that he’d like it to be “a standard-bearer for queer content.” He also said that Boys Will Be Bugs may expand into video: “There are some really cool stories we could share in video.