I remember Harry said in BH&G that his sexuality was his personal experience, but if he doesn't want people to speculate about it and wants privacy, why does he do queercoding and why is he deep in gay culture that anyone who looks further can realise he's part of the queer community? Some references are not even subtle, they are obvious. But then he doesn't say the words because he wants privacy. If he is so desperate for privacy, then he should stop all of that expression.
Huh.
So, you're saying that if he doesn't want to explicitly say exactly how he identifies, doesn't want to show the world who he is really dating, then he shouldn't be allowed to express himself at all.
You do realize closeted people are part of the LGBTQ+ community, right? You do realize that closeted people signal their queerness so that they can feel a part of the community even if they're unable to be "loud and proud" to the entire world, right? Queer signaling is a thing. Coded language, clothing, and behaviors have been common amongst the queer community since the dawn of time.
Are you saying he should be forced to come out if he wants to express his queer identity? He shouldn't be allowed to queer code and queer signal because you don't like that a closeted person is doing that? Any closeted person? Or just Harry? Closeting is never the fault of the queer person – but you guys sure to have strange rules around who is allowed the warm embrace of community and who is shut out.
Has it ever crossed your mind that he does it because it's been the only way he's been allowed to show who he really is? Or are you one of those people who think he's just staying in the closet because he only cares about money? Perhaps it hasn't crossed your mind that he's spent the last sixteen years (literally half his life) being told that who he loves, who he is, is wrong. It's wrong; it will ruin his career; it will ruin Louis' career; it will make people hate him/them; it will hurt the livelihoods of dozens – if not hundreds – of people who rely on him... don't you think that telling a literal child this for years would have some effect on them that would take years and years of unraveling. Is there only one type of suffering, one type of trauma, that makes it acceptable to stay closeted and find the right time and way for a person to come out?
On top of this, it's not just Harry who has to come to terms with what all of this means; it's Louis, too. They have to be on the same page. Do you have this same level of dismissiveness for Louis' struggle? Or it's okay that he's closeted because he wears his trauma and closeting in a more acceptable way?
GOLDEN LYRIC CHANGE
"I know that you're scared because I'm so open." "Hoping, hoping, that someday I could be open." "He's golden, I'm hoping, that someday I could be open." "I'm so done hoping, that someday I could be open." "I’m hoping ______ hoping that someday I could be open. I know that you’re scared because I’m still hoping. etc. etc. etc. He also never told people not to speculate about his sexuality and that he wants privacy around it. What he said was:
Around the time of Fine Line, he faced scrutiny around his sexuality. People became incredulous that he wore dresses, waved Pride flags, and yet hadn't clarified with precision, publicly to a journalist or on social media, the specifics of who he'd slept with, how he defined. This expectation is, to him, bizarre, "outdated." "I've been really open with it with my friends, but that's my personal experience; it's mine," he said. "The whole point of where we should be heading, which is toward accepting everybody and being more open, is that it doesn't matter, and it's about not having to label everything, not having to clarify what boxes you're checking."
What this says to me is that he's being himself. Wearing what he wears, waving a flag, behaving the way he does, is just him. He's in the closet, in part, because you all refuse to accept him into your club because he won't perform queerness the way you want him to.
But I'm sure you don't care because you clearly aren't a fan and you're really determined to dislike him and blame him for something you haven't given any thought to.
