Queer Rep In Media - Tumblr Posts
shoutout to heartstopper for not shying away from using the world lesbian once again in season 2. actually shoutout to heartstopper for using all the words, bisexual, lesbian, asexual, aromantic, trans. shoutout to heartstopper for not only using the word gay, but making characters reclaim their identities in every possible way. nick always clarifying that he’s bi, actually. the person at lambert saying they’re asexual and aromantic. tara and darcy calling themselves lesbians. it is so empowering to hear it on tv
currently reading WataOshi vol. 3 bonus stories for the first time (SPOILERS AHEAD), and i gotta say:
somehow, this books take on queer representation is a perfect blend of "Everyone is Gay" escapist fantasy, and the depiction of how harsh and cruel reality can be for LGBT people
Yes, Claire and Rae get to have a wedding and their own kids, with fully supportive parents/in-laws. And Yes, everyone from thier friend group (except for like, two dudes) ends up being incredibly queer
But also...
the story does not pretend this world is all rainbows and sunshines for LGBT people, just becuase its a yuri romance. The world at large is still either ignorant, or openly hostile towards non-cishet people. The state and the church dont legally recognize Rae & Claire as married, even though everyone who knows them does.
Inori's depiction of LGBT issues manages to simultaneously be realistic, AND incredibly optimistic, and i absolutely love her for it
RIP "Sniper"/Kaname Hagiri the twinks and lesbians of tumblr would have loved you
Today I'm thinking about biphobia.
It started with an interviewer assuming a character's sexuality to be straight, which is not the first nor last time this will happen.
But it reminded me of how I have been seeing bisexuality in media over the years. It reminded me of watching Queer as Folk (the old US one) when I was young, how it impacted me, how it was important to have that on television. I mean, I was too young at the time it was airing (2000-2005), but even watching it years later at 2010/2011, it was still something I had never seen.
And do you know how they treated bisexuality in it? Bad. It was bad.
For the most part, bi just wasn't a thing. Five seasons and everyone was either gay or straight. A character started showing signs they was into a different gender? Oh my god they were straight all along!
But there were two moments where bi was a thing, and it was even worse. Once, a very quick scene where a major character finds out he slept with a bi man and feels disgusted. He says it out loud, he's disgusted. Yeah.
Then very later on in the series, a woman cheats on her wife with a man, and it's terrible, because it's cheating, but can you guess what the wife focused on? Yeah. How could she do it with a man? And the woman cried and desperately didn't know how to explain why she felt the attraction and it broke my heart. I'm not even saying she was bi, but the whole way it was treated was terrible.
Now, for the most part, that show was still very important and it discussed so many big topics. I still hold it very dearly in my heart. But you see, a major queer show, and it treated bi people like that. It was a long time ago, at least, so things are definitely better.
But I still need more bisexuality to be nicely represented on screen. I still crave it, even while I love the gay stories we're getting, and I do love them so so much. I'll just love it more when bi folks are also a big part of this, and explicitly so. We're getting there, for sure, but we still have to keep it running, we still have to be annoying about it.
Because people will assume a character is either straight or gay and we need to shut them up more.