I gotta say some pockets of this fandom are so biphobic in ways they canât even see.
For reference bc it seems necessary, here are some common biphobic sentiments you may recognise: âBisexuals are disloyal sluts who will cheat on you, probably with another gender bc theyâre greedyâ and âBisexuals have to pick a sideâ (often w a side of âwomenâ donât count regardless of the bi personâs own gender bc misogyny) and âBisexuals can choose to live straightâ
In no particular order, the receipts:
Treating Sasha like some kind of evil gay femme fatale figure out to steal Shaneâs manâdismissing the implications of a more complex/nuanced history in the processâand behaving as though Ilya so much as speaking to him would be âcheatingâ regardless of his and Shaneâs relationship status/whether they are exclusive at the time (bc Sasha is a queer man and therefore a Threat vs. nameless women we never meet)
Arguably, the insistence on dismissing both the implicit and explicit evidence provided by both canons wrt Ilyaâs previous and ongoing sexual encounters with other men (bc as with Sasha such men would be a Threat) even by those that enjoy the idea of Shaneâs additional book encounters (bc heâs gay I guess?) in hc
Connected: Limiting sexual encounters to women pre Shane even in AU fics where he could be open about his sexuality (because if there were men involved, they would *matter*/ be a Threat)
The dismissal and reduction of Ilya and Svetaâs clearly close relationship by referring to her as âhis exâ (which would be obnoxiously amatonormative even if she were a regular casual hookup and not also his Friend) and making wild statements like âhe hasnât known love since he was 12â despite everything weâve been shown and told to the contrary (bc Svetlana is a woman heâs slept with that has a name and a place in his life with whom he could perform straightness and is therefore a Threat)
The sidelining of Sveta in fic in favour of straight or partnered men, e.g., Marly, even when setting does not support it (bc Ilya has had sex with Sveta and she is therefore a Threat as above). This is especially apparent in fics that simultaneously elevate and centre Shaneâs friendship with Rose (bc Shane is Gay and Rose is therefore not a Threat)
Also, while I have no problem whatsoever with Roselana as a concept bc I am always in favour of sapphic rep, I do think the urge to pair Sveta off quickly (and perhaps esp in this way) in at least some corners of this fandom is not unrelated to this đ
The suggestion that he somehow has less to fear than Shane because he could âchooseâ not to be queer and live out his life as a straight man
Making sure everyone in Ilyaâs life he might have ever been attracted to or may have been attracted to him, e.g., Sveta, Sasha, Luca, Marly lol etc. is at least half in love with Shane (bc Ilya canât be trusted and so they would otherwise be a Threat)
Accusing him of playing mind games for ever referencing he has a sexual history with anyone, but especially âother womenâ 𤢠(which additionally manages to be both misogynistic and heterosexist by implicitly misgendering Shane via assumption of het tropes while slut-shaming Ilya. Awesome.) as well as suggesting that this is an essentially vulgar topic somehow.
Also, yeah, it IS counterintuitive that you can simultaneously brush off former encounters as âmeaninglessâ bc they were with women (and nonromantic bc only romantic sex has value, right?) only to then turn around and accuse him of mind fuckery for admitting to their existence (bc apparently a) Feelings necessitate monogamy and b) this is inherently cruel to Shane BECAUSE heâs a man and Ilyaâs publicly known partners are women which must therefore mean Ilya would miss women or smth so itâs psychosexually traumatising to mention themâŚand this thought process is Ilyaâs fault somehow???), but then prejudice is always illogical and very often self-contradictory so
Repeatedly erasing his identity by referring to the show and him and Shane jointly as âgayâ (I get that some people prefer it to queer as an umbrella term when referring to nonstraight sexualities, so I can deal with âthe gay hockey showâ and even stomach âgay for e/oâ when itâs clearly a joke, but I do draw the line at âgay rival hockey playersâ)
Feel free to follow up with anything Iâve missed.