Why Sherlock isnβt really sexually oblivious
Sherlock is considered by the vast majority of fans as a sexually oblivious person. But is he, really? I always believed quite the opposite, so Iβll try to explain my viewpoint. Letβs remember the dinner scene in A Study in Pink:
John: People donβt have arch-enemies.
J:Β In real life. There are no arch-enemies in real life. Doesnβt happen.
S: Doesnβt it? Sounds a bit dull.
S: What do real people have, then, in their ββreal livesββ?Β
J:Β Friends? People they know, people they like, people they donβt like. Girlfriends, boyfriends β¦
S:Β Yes, well, as I was saying β dull.
J: You donβt have a girlfriend then.
S: Girlfriend? No, not really my area.Β
John doesnβt seem to pay much attention at first, but then he starts thinking that the phrase βnot really my areaβ may have a very specific meaning.
J:Β Oh, right. Do you have a boyfriend?
Sherlock turns to look sharply at John.Β
J: (thinks Sherlock believes heβs judging him) β¦Which is fine by the way.
J: (smiles reassuringly) So you have a boyfriend�
S: No. (βWhy do you insist on asking?β)
Sherlock keeps looking at him sharply.
J: Right, okay! (βRelax, why do you stiffen up?β)
John licks his lips. Sherlock narrows his eyes.
J:Β Youβre unattached. Like me. Fine. Good.
For John, this conversation has come to an end. After one last suspicious glare, Sherlock looks away. However, obviously his mind isnβt on the murderer. He takes a breath and turns to John again.Β
S:Β John, umβ¦ I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while Iβm flattered by your interest, Iβm really not looking for anyβ¦
J: (only now he understands why Sherlock was looking at him oddly) Noβ¦no.. (he nearly chokes) Iβm not askingβ¦ noβ¦ Iβm just saying, itβs all fine.
S: (unconvinced) Good. Thank you.
J: (βWhat the hell did just happen?β)
(Source:Β http://www.allkpop.com/forums/profile/becci)
This is the definition of a honest WTF moment.
Now, the most popular opinion is that John made an effort to hit on Sherlock and after Sherlock rejected him he decided to never bring it up again and became extremely heteronormative as an act of self-assurance.Β
In my opinion, this is not what happens here. John doesnβt try to hit on Sherlock. He just chats in a friendly manner, trying to learn more about his mysterious new flatmate. However, when Sherlock responds thatΒ βa girlfriend is not his areaβ, itβs absolutely normal and expected that John thinks Sherlock is probably homosexual, taking into consideration everything heβs heard that day. Mrs Hudson, Donovan and Mycroft have already implied that these two might be a couple, but none of them knows anything about Johnβs personal life - they do know about Sherlockβs life though, donβt they? If all of Sherlockβs acquaintances supposed so quickly that Sherlock and John are a couple, then Sherlock must be gay. Itβs the perfectly logical conclusion and Sherock actually underpins it with his reactions. Then John tries to reassure Sherlock that he is open-minded (after all his own sister is a lesbian). Sherlock misunderstands Johnβs intentions (or perhaps not?).
Everyone analyzes Johnβs not gay - gay flirting, but in fact there isnβt much in Johnβs actions. The curious case here is Sherlock.
Sherlock stops responding casually when John asks him if he has a boyfriend. His reaction, though, is very interesting. Letβs see it again.
What does he look like? Well, most definitely surprised. But is he unpleasantly surprised or irritated like John thinks? According to the following gifβ¦
(Source: sherlockbbcgifs)
Itβs not really the words, itβs the look. Sherlock becomes passive, stops being talkative and looks at John - uhm whatβs the word? Angrily? No. Defensively? Hmm not sureβ¦ Examiningly? Yeah, probablyβ¦ Intensely? Closerβ¦
Yep, thatβs the word. Sherlock is surprised at first, because he didnβt deduce John is gay (and he was right because John isnβt). But then he looks as if he expects from John to reveal his true intentions, which is something that John doesnβt do because he has no such intentions (keep reading, Iβm a Johnlocker).Β
But John makes two mistakes:
He says that he is single as well.
Β These two things convince Sherlock that John tries to flirt with him. While the first needs some further examination, the second isnβt flirting. Itβs just a simple declaration. Poor John tries desperately to make Sherlock comfortable and makes it even worse by telling him that they are in the same situation. After some thought, Sherlock then decides to speak openly and reject him. John denies that he had any romantic / sexual intentions and then an unconvinced Sherlockβ¦
β¦looks away relieved? No. Maybe calmer but definitely not relieved.Β
Now, remember, Sherlock never again acted like that in other flirts. People consider Sherlock sexually oblivious, but whatever he is, thatβs not oblivious. He predicted Jim would hit on him, before the latter even closed the door of the laboratory.
#Ohhh shit heβs gay Β #he came for me Β #john is right behind me Β #I must ignore this guy completely
Sherlock is completely rude towards Jim (sometimes even Jim needs some understanding okay?) and this is not because Jim is a human being and Sherlock despises human beings.Β I stand by the opinion that Sherlock may be somewhat socially awkward, but heβs not hostile to people he just met for no reason! So, Sherlock behaves so terribly in front of Jim, because he realizes that Jim is attracted to him and plays with Mollyβs heart. And most importantly, John is in the room, so Sherlock must look as disinterested as possible.
Also, he immediately understood Kitty Rileyβs sexual approach was fake. He is the only one who suspects Irene Adler is in love with him from the very beginning, you can read this analysis (βWhy was Sherlock so emotional in the last scene with Irene?β) for more on this topic. Β And look at his face when Molly refreshes her lipstick:
People laugh at how oblivious he is and how he doesnβt understand that Molly just asked him out. And Iβm looking at him and I only see suspicion. Itβs as if he thinksΒ βShit, sheβs about to hit on me. How do I escape from that?β Seriously, thatβs his face when Molly simply says she refreshed her lipstick:
Then, when Molly asks if heβd like to have coffee, Sherlock takes advantage of her poorly expressed question and quickly rushes out of the room before she has a chance to tell him bringing him coffee was not what she meant.Β
In TBB Sherlock intentionally compliments Mollyβs looks to make her allow him to see the corpses. Sherlock is aware of his sexual attractiveness and uses it to his advantage more than once.Β
So Sherlock is not oblivious as we usually think. Itβs not that he canβt recognise a sexual approach - he can, but he usually chooses to ignore it.Β
But thatβs not what he does with John. In fact, he does exactly the opposite. If he meant he was asexual, he would say that a boyfriend isnβt his area either and everything would end there. But he didnβt say that. He clearly waited passively for John to make a move and when John didnβt, he rejected him in advance, because thatβs what he does, thatβs how he feels safe.
So, Sherlock didnβt reject John because he wasnβt interested in him. He rejected him because he believes thatβs what he must do in order to protect himself fromΒ βdestructive loveβ. He doesnβt want to fall for John, but he falls anyway. In other words, if John actually did hit on him that day and his flirting was daring, Sherlock would probably not have the discipline to resist.Β
So what I mean here is that Sherlock is gay and interested in John, but John is clearly disinterested in him? Nope!
There is this excellent argument that when the most observant man in the world thinks youβre flirting with him, then you probably are. Fair enough.Β
But I said that Johnβs words didnβt really hide some romantic interest.Β
Once again, itβs not the words but the unconscious reactions - the lip licking, the reassuring smile, the effort to make Sherlock feel more comfortable and explain, when clearly Sherlock isnβt very keen to speak about these issues. The really hard effort to play cool. Just to name a few. John thinks he just chats, but his subconscious betrays him in front of Sherlock. John hasnβt realized heβs interested in Sherlock yet. Some claim that John is a bisexual who, after being rejected, started being extremely heteronormative, but this is not the case.
When they left the restaurant to chase the taxi, John didnβt care being rejected by Sherlock, because he didnβt realize he had such feelings for him yet. Therefore he doesnβt act in a heteronormative way in the rest of the episode. In the next scenes John is more delighted than ever and he literally gives no fuck about what Sherlock just said. Remember what followed:
Thatβs something not-gay-John-Watson wouldnβt do as easily in The Reichenbach Fall. He still doesnβt think about it when he touches Sherlock. Howeverβ¦notice the way Sherlock already looks at him.Β
And then this mutual mastur⦠errrr⦠enthusiasm.
And then this, whatever you want to call it.
This actually happened in front of a dozen of people. And we know that John has an issue with what people think. But we donβt see him acting heteronormatively here. He doesnβt care, because he doesnβt realize that what he does isnβt quite expected of two straight guys who just met. (And this is probably the last time he doesnβt realize it.)
Ironically, Sherlock knows what John feels for him before John himself, because he deduces what he feels by observing his reactions, movements and decisions just like he does with all other people! So there you go, John Watson is the oblivious one of the two. In his forty(?) years of living, John Watson has never experienced something that strong and undeniable, so it βll take him a while to understand what is really going on here. Sherlock never was sexually oblivious and will never be. On the contrary, heβs quite quick on these matters, especially when it comes to men. John will start realizing that something doesnβt feel quite right probably at the end of the episode. When he kills for this goddamn guy without a second thought. Donβt worry, John Watson wonβt be oblivious for long. Heteronormativity says hello in the Blind Banker. Β
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