#queer rep issues

-- Eli King, “Open to Interpretation”: When Queer Characters are Forced Back Into the Closet

[Image ID: Queer romances are continuously held to a higher standard than heterosexual romances. Oftentimes, they are met with arguments of “they’re just friends.” Increasingly, they’re met with the more hostile, homophobic argument of “why do they have to be gay,” as though queer people do not exist in real life, and do not deserve to see themselves represented on screen. Has a heterosexual couple ever been denoted as simply being “open to interpretation”? No one argues against Grey’s Anatomy Bailey and Ben as romantic. No one argued against the validity of The Walking Dead’s Glenn and Maggie. No one argues against Spiderman’s Peter Parker and Mary Jane. From first glance, the audience understands the romantic intentions the authors are crafting when it comes to heterosexual relationships. Yet, when a male-presenting character declares his love for another male-presenting character, it is bombarded with “open to interpretations” even when classic romance tropes are used, such as death bed confessions and sacrificing your life to save your lover’s. Even when such a pivotal scene was penned by a queer writer. /End ID]

This was not a program greenlit with queer leads, its audiences were fraught and miscalculated, and it was playing by a different rulebook from the seeming contemporaries ten years its junior that are afforded queerness with varying privilege. Supernatural was playing a sophisticated, risky game. Push the subtextual restraints until they break. Hold the pieces up to the world’s eyes. Dare it to put them back.

nonnie, omg, i so deeply appreciate this, you have no idea. 

i think part of the problem is that a lot of these people are growing up in a time -- because of the hard work of queer elders and queercoding like the hays code --where Being Queer can be their whole identity and not be shunned for it. for the most part. they don’t know the still-living history of queer people fighting to even have a right to exist in the same place. that’s not to say that’s these people’s faults, necessarily, that they don’t know. however, it does fall on them when they try to devalue legitimate queercoding and the like, as it wasn’t “enough” for them. especially when they’ve got, idk, other people who have studied queer theory and lit crit telling them, “hey, maybe, uh, don’t.” idk, maybe i’m just weird for listening to people who, like, have degrees in this specific thing.

i never want to try to come across as though i don’t want more queer stories or better representation -- of course i want that -- but i don’t think it’s fair to look at media from, hell, a decade ago and go, this isn’t queer The Right Way and therefore is not worth our time. like that-- that’s not how things work. how the hell do you think we got to where we are in the first place?

and saying that in order for a story to be deemed Queer Enough, lest The Straights(tm), antis, and homophobes won’t “get it,” is already fundamentally flawed. our stories don’t need the approval of people who willfully continue to misunderstand us. our stories are not for them and they’re not supposed to be.

the idea of “good representation” is... well, i see the point it’s trying to make, but it falls short. as i said in my other post, everyone’s idea of “good” “representation” is different. and that’s always going to be an issue, as long as we continue to disregard queercoding as inefficient and “queerbait.” 

imagine thinking you’re the victor in a fabricated ship war when the only way to make your ship “canon” is by letting the network censoring the “opposing” queer ship

also no winces* isnt canon like i cant believe i have to explain that a creative team full of destiel cheerleaders AND QUEER PEOPLE wouldnt do that. also any time the network included some form of or nod to incestuous relationships, they make sure it’s shown as Not Good

but anyway yall are the true lgbt+ allies, right? that why you’re celebrating a queer love story being removed with a rusty hacksaw?

just admit you dont like the idea of two men being in love

also proship means that even tho YOU personally dont like it, you don’t support doxxing/harssing/being an asshole to people that ship things, AGAIN, YOU PERSONALLY DONT LIKE. dont be a fucking hypocrite, anon. and stop being homophobic too

id also like to point out that most of my rants have been about eileen. you know. 1/2 of a het ship? and not even about the ship. anout HER AS A CHARACTER BEING ERASED. so LMAO nice try trying to make this once again about a fake ship war

you really thought you had something huh