An Open Letter to Marlene King and Fandom
My heart beats the same as my straight friends. I know it and they know it. In our circle, we are equal. Out in the world and to others? We’re less equal. It’s hurtful and disheartening, but it’s true.
We live in a world where lgbt people are still oppressed. Being gay is currently still illegal in 73 countries and it is punishable by death in 13. We live in a world where lgbt people are not yet equal. We have made some steps towards true equality but we aren’t there yet. Today, lgbt people are more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other minority group.
Unfortunately, while some people have been getting more accepting of other sexualities, genders, and identities, it urges others to become more radically opposed. This is, sadly, the world we live in. It is not perfect. It is not a special utopia where lgbt people can live freely like heterosexual people can.
I understand wholeheartedly what Marlene King is saying. I can’t wait for the day when race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender don’t matter when it comes to storytelling.
But that is not our truth right now.
Upon seeing the drama unfold on twitter, Heather Hogan, a journalist and feminist who is lgbt, eloquently stated this:
We don’t live in a post-identity politics, post-gay world. The persecution and oppression is still very real and stories have to live there.
The fact of the matter is that I don’t doubt Marlene’s intentions. I don’t doubt that she’s writing as though we don’t have these problems. I don’t doubt that behind her public persona, she is a good person. Marlene is an lgbt woman who wants to see more love and less hate – just like the rest of us.
When our representation dies in front of us, it’s like seeing a piece of ourselves die. It’s like seeing our hope for the future die.
According to Autostraddle’s ultimate infographic of dead lbpq women, there are 18,000+ straight characters. There have only been 383 lesbian/bisexual characters. 95 of them are dead – that’s approximately 25%. 76 of them are still on-air (aka not dead – however this infographic is from March…) – that’s about 20%. There have been 30 happy endings for lesbian/ bisexual tv characters.
Thirty. If pressed, I could name you thirty happy endings for heterosexual characters, and I could probably do it standing on my head.
While I’m sure it was unknowingly done, Marlene played into every bad stereotype surrounding lgbt women and then murdered them. She is contributing to the negative representation when she could help change it instead. She’s living in a world that does not exist yet and that’s not how you create change. She’s waiting for change to catch up to her.
I am happy and proud to be bisexual.
I am not happy that my representation doesn’t exist. I am not happy that the only examples of bisexuality my mom has seen on television are negative or offensive. I am not happy that one of my closest friends doesn’t understand what bisexuality is. I am not happy that my ex boyfriend told me I’m suffering from cognitive dissonance because of the “lgbt trend” and that I’m not really bi.
I am not happy that four lgbt women have been killed off of PLL. I am not happy that two of the remaining lgbt women on PLL are bisexual and that it’s constantly erased (it isn’t a dirty word!). I am not happy that the one remaining lesbian on the show has not been given the same romantic storylines as her heterosexual friends.
I am not happy that a predator, a man who canonically committed statutory rape, gets redeemed. I am not happy that he, after stalking the girls (who were minors) for years, faces zero repercussions, but others who have stalked the girls to a lesser degree (Shana and Sara) were given no redemption. I am not happy that he gets a happy ending with his victim. I am not happy that abusive behaviour by men on this show is never addressed.
I am not happy that she denies all accountability.
And I am not happy that she chose to call out Emison fans, many of whom are lgbt.
I recognize that she was probably sent many vile tweets (and that’s not okay). I also recognize that there’s generally a loud minority in the Emison fandom (and every other ship fandom) who are rude and disrespectful in very violent or vicious ways.
But here’s what bothers me.
When Ez*ria broke up for two seconds, Twitter Ez*rian’s called for a blackout and purposely tried to drop ratings. When Ravenswood happened, Twitter H*leb fans refused to give the show a chance, and also called for blackouts, trying to drop ratings to both shows. I don’t know if Spoby fans ever did the same, so I’m not bringing them into it.
But to my knowledge, Marlene never tweeted about how wrong that was. Instead, they were (and still are) praised for being passionate (read: entitled). I’m bothered because when lgbt fans have a legitimate concern, we were thrown under the bus. We get told we’re crazy, that we should be happy for the representation we have, that it’s equality.
I understand where Marlene is coming from. I want to live in the world she’s convinced we live in. But I don’t live there. A lot of us don’t. And she needs to recognize that and be held accountable for her decisions.
Another thing that has bothered me about this drama. She said it’s only the ‘rude’ fandom falling apart. And liked several tweets about how #real fans wouldn’t be acting like this.
Excuse my language, but fuck that noise. How dare you insinuate that I’m not a real fan? If I weren’t a real fan, I wouldn’t be sitting here hurting or writing this. If I weren’t a real fan, I wouldn’t be so completely devastated that this is not the show I fell in love with. If I weren’t a real fan, I would not have poured hundreds – probably thousands – of hours into this blog making gifs and talking to other fans.
Being a fan of something doesn’t mean you can’t ever be critical of it. To me, being a real fan of something includes being critical of its flaws and loving it in spite of those flaws. So, fuck that noise. I might be waiting for this show to be over, but I will be a real fan until the day it ends and until the day I close this blog.
Bonus: Here are some things to read up on about lgbt violence and hate crimes: [x, x, x, x, x, x]
**Please note this is not an attack to other ship fandoms or fans**
