fetishization as a colloquialism inherently implies dehumanization. like a fat fetishizer who fucks a fat woman and gets off on that but would never date or be seen in public with her is engaging in dehumanizing behavior. they see this person as a sexual object and not a human being with thoughts and feelings and an inner world. heated rivalry is not a show that dehumanizes queer men, it is a queer love story, where both characters are given agency, lives independent of one another, emotions and fears (romantic or otherwise), and yeah, sexual desire too. i genuinely find it hard to believe that a massive swath of "straight women" are engaging with a happily-ever-after romance plot for the sole purpose of fetishizing and thus dehumanizing queer men. there are exceptions to everything that prove the rule, but you will not convince me this is happening on a wide scale. especially on tumblr
