Maybe it's just me, but as a bi person, it made me so happy that the show restated Robert's identity as a bisexual man. Since he came back, we've only seen him interact romantically and/or sexually with men or talk about his relationships with men. For anyone who got into the show after he left or just didn't pay attention you could easily get the impression that he's gay, and he's been referred to as such in at least one article. So when Vic calls him bi and he agrees, it feels important.
He's been open about his sexuality for almost 10 years, but since he's mostly been with Aaron or off screen it's easy to forget. Hell, some newer shows still seem hesitant to label their characters as anything beyond gay or straight. So yeah, thanks Emmerdale, for confirming that our boy is still bi
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With this new storyline and especially with Nicola of all people talking to Aaron about him and Robert, I've had a lot of thoughts about Robert's traumatic relationship with sex, power, and consent (I'll come back to Nicola in part 2). I'm currently watching both Aaron's and Robert's storylines from when they were kids and teenagers, and there are so many things that put what's happening at the moment into perspective.
Now, I'm no scholar when it comes to Classic Emmerdale so if anyone has anything to add or comment, please do! Other thoughts and reflections are more than welcome too!
First, I wanna talk about the situation with the farmhand. Yes, it's a retcon and not shown on screen, but it's canon and it's relevant. Most if not all of us in the fandom have seen this scene a thousand times, but for anyone new and who needs a refresher:
To recap:
Until he moved away at 19, Robert lived with his family on one of the farms in Emmerdale. His father Jack was the man in charge and the kids had to help out. At one point when Robert was 15, they hired a new farmhand who he really liked. One thing led to another and Robert and the farmhand ended up in Robert's bedroom. Before anything could happen, Jack found them, kicked the farmhand out and gave Robert a “leathering”, aka a beating. It should be mentioned that Jack had been physically violent with Robert, both before and after:
Why is this relevant to what's happening now?
One of Robert's first attempts at an intimate encounter got him a beating from his dad, because it was with a boy. In his young brain that would’ve created an association between intimacy, physical violence and men, especially older men. Canonically, this incident messed up his relationship with his own bisexuality for 15 years and made him stay in the closet until he came out in 2016. The fact that one of the main reasons he got assaulted in prison was because of his queerness must've been triggering for him and brought up a lot of old shame.
So far we don't know whether or not Kev has ever properly hit Robert, but we all saw that second kiss and Robert's pliant and dazed reaction. Due to the trauma of what happened with Jack, having an older man use physical force in relation to a queer intimate moment would've felt familiar, if not very uncomfortable. In fact I'd say that Robert was on the verge of dissociating.
In relation to age, if Kev is around Chris Coghill's age, this means that there is about a 10 year age gap between him and Robert, since Chris was born in 1975. This follows the pattern of Robert choosing noticeably older partners/lovers, including Chrissie and Nicola, as well as Lawrence even though that wasn't consummated. This could be interpreted as a manifestation of parental trauma, aka mommy/daddy issues, which we know Robert has in SPADES; both his biological and adoptive mothers dying when he was young, a father who was physically violent, emotionally abusive and neglectful with moments of love and care.
In part 2, I will discuss the circumstances around Robert's virginity and why Nicola is relevant.
Matty's been in prison recently right? I wonder if this situation with Kev will get him and Robert to talk about their experiences inside. I just want Robert to have a friend that isn't already connected to Aaron (aka Mack). It'd be nice for two of the only openly queer people in the village to have someone who gets it, especially since neither of them are gay.
Me, a bisexual, back when I first heard about Emmerdale in like 2015: I'm all for bi representation, but why does Robert fit so many negative bi stereotypes? :(
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I'd love a scene where Mack, Aaron and Robert are just casually hanging out and Mack starts up with his usual flirting thing (maybe he can make a joke bout being the filling in a Robron sandwich...) but cos Robert's still new to this dynamic he doesn't realise this is just Something Mack Does, so he calls him out on it, like 'okay but for real, what's going on? Do you actually just want to shag us both? I'm legit confused about what's happening here' and Mack is slowly dying while Aaron titters away in the corner... Doesn't deny it though, of course! He and Robert need to play bi chicken while Aaron watches on having the time of his life!
Oh hell yeah, anon! We need something like this! Get in the ED writers' room! More Mack flirting with men and bi vs bi war for Aaron's affection!
Btw, wouldn't it be great with more male bi/pan representation? This could be such a good way for Mack to realize and/or acknowledge that he isn't as straight as he thinks he is/presents himself as.
(Also, after ever they've been through, wouldn't it be nice for both Mack and Robron to have some lighthearted fun with the ones who get it?)
