Writing another Amane defense/analysis bc she is so interesting and fun to analyze but in the meantime have a Kazui post about why , yes, the Bartender is homophobic and why that matters
The bartender does not need to be defended. Stop trying to defend him. You are missing the point. From a writing standpoint, he is not a complex, nuanced character like the prisoners in Milgram. He is part of Kazui’s backstory and a representative on how society as a whole views queer people.
The main point people use to defend him is “He was just disgusted at Kazui being married and still asking him, it had nothing to do with Kazui being gay.” This does not make sense considering all our given information. From a character perspective, which everyone wants to view this by, it doesn't make sense. He has been friends with Kazui longer than some members of the main cast have even been alive. If it were out of concern for Hinako, he would not have responded so quickly and would not have responded in the same way. The way Kazui was able to laugh it off without further questioning shows that the bartender was not thinking about Hinako, as he likely would have expressed concern for her or pressed further. The response he gave is described as curt, so he likely didn't think too much about it, more like an instinctual reaction. The words he said were simple: “That's disgusting.” and he seemed visibly uncomfortable. The idea that being gay is disgusting or unnatural is a pervasive one and trying to pretend that this response in particular is not rooted in homophobia comes across as trying to justify it or even pretending that it doesn't exist. It makes us ask, where would we draw the line? Would the bartender have to call Kazui a slur or physically attack him for us to see it as homophobia? Can we not infer from subtle clues based on both body language and context that this is homophobic? Defending statements like this just encourages the spread of harmful rhetoric, so long as the person can “justify” it.
From a writing perspective, it can only be interpreted as an example of homophobia. Kazui’s story is about a gay man being forced to hide an important part of himself to fit into society’s expectation of what a man should be. The bartender represents society to queer people, trusting and treating you like any other human being until you show even the slightest deviation from what is deemed normal, to which their entire demeanor changes and you stop being the same person that you once were to them. It doesn't matter how long they were friends, Kazui stopped being that friend as soon as he came out and instead became an impostor wearing his face. This is the reality that so many queer people face, the fear that someone who is your closest companion today could be a potential danger as soon as they discover the real you.
An example of how stupid the argument is that he was disgusted by the lying is to compare it to another music-centered queer story, Mizu5, or Whither This Path of Thorns. In Mizu5, Mizuki, a character implied to be a transgender woman, plans to come out to their close friend, Ena. Mizuki spends most of this event worrying about how Ena will react and cherishing the good times they have together before she risks it all to tell Ena her secret. Ena promised Mizuki that they would be willing to wait as long as Mizuki wants to share her secret and Mizuki has finally decided that they are going to do it. Ena goes to meet Mizuki on the rooftop, but encounters a group of bullies, who, upon hearing that Ena is waiting for Mizuki, ask her this: “Are you also like a guy or something?”. Mizuki walks in on Ena processing this statement and flees in fear. This statement by Student A denies Mizuki’s gender identity, treating her as if she isn't a ‘real girl’ and is blatantly transphobic. To compare the two, let's re-interpret student A’s statement in the way that people try to re-interpret the bartender’s statement. The meaning of this statement would be misconstrued to mean “Oh they didn't tell you even though you are friends?” to try and act like they cared about Ena, instead of them just being plain transphobic. This is, in essence, what people are trying to do with the bartender’s statement, acting as if he is the sane man pointing out the obvious for someone else's sake, trying to portray the intent behind the message as being more innocent and good-natured than it actually is. It is homophobic, plain and simple, no matter how you look at it.
Overall, this interpretation of events perpetuates the idea that it is the queer person’s fault for facing homophobia, encouraging them to conform to society. They defend homophobia, trying to play it off as good natured concern, which is an attitude often found in anti-lgbtq sentiment, such as trying to protect kids. So many arguments in favour of voting Kazui guilty disregard just how dangerous it was and still is to be a queer person. Believing that he should have stayed single 1. Ignores that people would have become suspicious, and 2. Treats him as if his sexuality is the problem that everyone should just ignore. Saying that he should never have come out disregards how stifling it is to hold such an integral part of yourself back and once again, treats him being gay as a problem that he should just tolerate for the sake of all the good ‘normal’ people. Acting as if coming out was ever an option for him ignores canon information that he genuinely perceived his life to be at risk if anyone ever found out about his sexuality and tells queer people that they are in the wrong for wanting to protect themselves from a society that wants to do them harm. Trying to get into a lavender marriage is a challenge in its own right, as it would require him to come out to someone who he believed could potentially also be queer, giving a closely kept secret that could threaten his life to someone that may intend to hurt him with it, who may not even be lgbtq+ in the first place. Hinako and Kazui are both victims of an uncaring society, represented by the bartender.
Anyways thanks for my ted talk and happy kazui inno pride
also pls amane inno analysis will be coming soon
