Why are we silencing queer voices?
I'm going to say this once and only once.
We, as queer people, should not be forced to be content with the scraps we are fed.
The recent SNL skit has caused an uproar in people shaming queerfolk for complaining about the coming-out scene. The same coming-out scene that was so bad it made Noah Schnapp feel like he was in a stressful press conference.
When we are given poor quality, ill-planned, and harmful queer representation, we have every right to mock it, poke fun at it, and speak out against it. We do not need to stay silent.
You know what's homophobic? That the Duffer's thought they could write that shit and we'd all defend it because it's all we are fed. We aren't starving animals begging for crumbs; we are human beings deserving of respect.
Will Byers isn't a real person. People are standing up for him, saying any comment about his coming out is an attack against him; it isn't. It's a commentary on the terrible writing and how often queer people get overlooked. Thrown in last minute for clicks. The Duffer brothers had no problem calling Will a fag, multiple times throughout the show, but they couldn't even let him call himself gay. They saved his coming out to the second to last episode, and they did it horribly.
Continue to speak up. Don't let them shame you into being quiet. Homophobic people will always complain no matter what queer content they get, so it's important that we make it known that we won't settle for this pathetic queerbaiting bullshit.
"Oh, but homophobes are review bombing it-"
And that's horrible, but why are queer people being made to shoulder that burden and fix the mess the Duffers made?
"The bullying is so bad the Duffer's had to check in on Noah!"
And whose fault is that? Maybe it's the writers who couldn't care to make a scene that would connect audiences to the character. Maybe the reason we have so many homophobes saying it was "unnecessary" to the story is because that's how it felt. It was thrown in last minute without care. They had a beautiful opportunity to write a queer character into a story that wasn't about queer characters. Instead, they made it a spectacle. "Look, everyone! He's gay!" no shit. We could all tell. Now you've made Will into a token for your money-hungry queer-baiting tactics.
Stop being complacent. Stop fighting queer people speaking up. Stop shaming us for not being satisfied.