You can't say you're not playing oppression olympics and then act like Connor doesn't face homophobia when he very obviously does. The industry is homophobic. That's not even controversial. There are countless actors who have talked about staying closeted, not getting certain roles, being typecast, or being advised not to come out because it could hurt their careers. If being openly queer had no impact on your career, there wouldn't be so many queer actors who feel the need to keep their sexuality private in the first place.
And before you bring up someone like Jonathan Bailey, exceptions don't change the fact that this is still a common issue in the industry. There are very few openly gay leading men compared to straight ones, and there's a reason for that.
And come on... Connor's sexuality is hardly some huge secret. Posts about it went viral, he may not be officially out, but acting like nobody knows is just unrealistic. and he's absolutely gotten homophobic comments because of it. We literally saw viral tweets from the MAGA side calling him too "feminine", camping in tiffany's insta account comments, and saying weird shit about him after the met gala. Just because you don't pay attention to it doesn't mean it isn't happening.
It's not even about Connor specifically. It's the idea that people act like homophobia isn't still a thing in these industries when it very obviously is.
The film industry is homophobic. The music industry is homophobic. The modeling industry is homophobic. And they're also racist. Both things can be true at the same time.
There are countless examples of people's sexuality affecting their careers, the roles they get, how they're marketed, whether they feel comfortable coming out, or whether they're encouraged to stay private. If homophobia wasn't a factor, there wouldn't be so many actors, singers, and public figures who have talked about hiding their sexuality because they were afraid of the consequences.
And just because being gay is normalized in certain online spaces doesn't mean it's normalized everywhere. Twitter is not real life. Tumblr is not real life. Fandom spaces are not real life.
Even looking at queer media, there are examples of how difficult it can be to get those projects made in the first place. Just look how hard Jacob pushed for heated rivalry to he made the way it is. And it still won't change anything. If the industry were as accepting as people claim, there wouldn't be so many stories from creators about the barriers they faced
Connor is obviously white, and that comes with privilege. Nobody is denying that. But being a white gay man is not the same thing as being a straight white man. A straight white man still has privileges that a gay white man doesn't. That's just reality.
And at the same time, a queer person of color is going to face challenges that Connor doesn't because they're dealing with both racism and homophobia. That doesn't erase Connor's experiences, and Connor's experiences don't erase theirs.
I genuinely don't understand why people struggle so much with the idea that multiple things can be true at once. The industry can be racist. The industry can be homophobic. Connor can benefit from being white while still facing homophobia. Hudson can face racism while still benefiting from other forms of privilege. None of those statements contradict each other.
No sorry! This post is too long 😭 I'm not replying to all of that. Maybe some other anon wants to way in but this is too excessive.
Especially when it starts with the claim that we act like homophobia is not a thing and that it's an open secret that Connor is gay. Which I both disagree with.
I just can't be bothered to entertain this level of crash out 😭
