Baopu #56: Best Friends

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Yao Xiao

Yao Xiao is a China-born illustrator based in New York City. Yao Xiao creates artwork depicting a poetic visual world where complex concepts and human emotions are examined, amplified, and given physical form. Her work has helped people all over the globe connect at unique moments, from the celebration of the 20 Year Anniversary of the SXSW Interactive Festival, to the grand release of pop singer Katy Perry's single 'Dark Horse.' She has created deeply emotional and beautiful graphics for editorial print publications, pop music record covers, concert posters and book covers. Yao Xiao's serialized comic Baopu currently runs monthly on Autostraddle. It is an original comic exploring the nuances in searching for identities, connections and friendships through the fictional life of a young, queer emigrant. Baopu stands for 'holding simplicity,' a Taoist ideal of wishing to return to a simpler state. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy or her website.

Yao has written 128 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. Maybe cats have just super internalized that “go to the bathroom in groups” thing?

    My other favorite is cooking together, where one of us really wants to be on the counter because otherwise they’re too short to try to touch the food.

  2. Apparently the bathroom thing is like… safety in numbers? because you’re very vulnerable and all, but that makes it no less weird when I look across the bathroom and accidentally make eye contact with the cat while we’re both peeing.

  3. Honestly, it’s a nice time for petting an animal. I’m sitting for a minute, taking a break. My two cats (and 15 lb cockapoo who is an honorary cat) all expect attention when someone goes into the bathroom now. Sorry guest…

  4. While we still had Misty (she passed at 19) she would love to hang out in the bathroom. So much so that when folks came over and asked to use the loo we started responding with “ok just pet the cat”

    Misty had been gone for four years now and it’s still code for having to go to the bathroom.

    You would not believe the looks when we are out and say “I have to go pet the cat” like it’s code for self love or something. 🤷🏻‍♀️

  5. If I close the door, Gimli (my dog) won’t follow me, but if I leave the door open, he might wander in. He’s not a huge fan of the bathroom, he slides over the tiles a bit too much for his liking. But otherwise, yes, we do everything together. I can’t wait to move so we can sleep in the same bed again.

  6. My kitty and I just moved in with another human and two more kitties. I will NEVER pee alone again!!!

  7. And yet if you do close the bathroom door at 3am, because hey it is 3am and you have a roommate and he probably doesn’t want to wake up to the sound of you PEEING AT 3am!, your cat will then scratch at the bathroom door, and your roommate will probably wake up anyway.

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