Open your mind open your heart
| Website | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Open Your Mind Open Your Heart |
| Owner/Maintainer: | Clay |
| Dates: | 2000-2004 |
| Type: | |
| Fandom: | Multifandom |
| URL: | "defunct". Archived from the original on 2004-06-06. |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Open Your Mind Open Your Heart was a site that created banners for fans to add to their own websites in support of yaoi/yuri pairings as well as real lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Sample Banners
Quotes
The Reason: Too many people get flamed because of their "unwholesome" or "perverted" ideas concerning yaoi/gay and yuri/lesbian couples. People are scared to admit their sexuality or just scared to admit that they find these types of relationships normal. We need everyone to join together in order to promote a safer, more friendly environment for YAOI/YURI fans and homosexuals.
But not just any yaoi fans, mostly those that are fond of non canon pairings. Those are the people who end up getting flamed. Fans of non canon straight pairings get left alone for the most part, as well as fans of canon yaoi pairings. This site was made for everyone who likes to hook up guys or girls no matter how improbable the couple may be. We are free to enjoy anime any way we like and no one can tell us we're wrong.
The Mission: The point of these banners is to unite the online community in expressing their acceptance and support of YAOI/YURI couples and of homosexuality in general. We want to show the world that we're proud to support real gay and lesbian relationships as well as made up ones.
Also, these banners are an attempt at stopping flames. If a potential flamer sees a banner on your site and follows the link, I hope they read my message and think twice about bashing other people's beliefs.
The showcased banners are of couples I support. I have had to answer to the couples represented on this site before and I will only do so to the showcased banners. All other banners are online and available to all who want them. In general, they are of couples that aren't quite my cup of tea, or just aren't showcased for various reasons. Please don't ask me to explain why I like a couple that is not showcased because it is likely that I don't. Thank you. The following explains my mindset in choosing the banners I've chosen to represent this site and will most likely further explain the mission of the banner series.(...)
The reason I even contemplated using canon couples was because I was attacked for using non canon ones. ... ...... ......... Wait. Isn't that why I made this banner series in the first place? To stop things like this from happening? It seems that the real question was if I should use any canon couples at all. In the end, I decided that the best way to go was to just put up couples that I happen to like. And that seems to be working... well, at least better than before.
That also means that I am no longer accepting gift banners. I greatly appreciated the support, but accepting banners means more banners than I would like on the site and the possibility of receiving banners of couples I cannot defend. (...) There are also banners available with the subtitle "shounen ai and shoujo ai support on the web" available for those who do not wish to use banners with the words "yaoi" and "yuri" on them. The words yaoi and yuri have sexual connotations and may make some people uncomfortable. This is completely understandable, and I hope that these banners and the ones lacking any sort of subtitle at all are satisfactory.