STRANGER THINGS TAKES PLACE DURING THE 80S. DURING THE AIDS CRISIS
Respectfully, Bylers reaaallllyyy need to think about the show through the lens of queer history.
I hate how we are skipping over the relationship between Will and Robin. All of the conversations about queerbaiting and calling the Duffer Bros homophobic don't acknowledge Robin's existence. There's a lot of love stories about gay men now. But I really really loved getting to see a story about the mentorship and friendship between two queer people in the 80s. It was so special and so well done. Unrequited love is something that happens to everyone queer or not. And having a crush on a straight friend hurts and back then it was especially dangerous. Having Robin there to guide him through that was huge.
The reason the L is first in LGBTQIA+ is because it was changed from GLBT by gay men to honor the Lesbians who took care of gay men during the aids crisis. The relationship between lesbians and gay men in the 80s was REALLY IMPORTANT & having Robin be a mentor to Will feels so big. It's such a love letter to the Gay men and Lesbians who were there for each other during that time. It's so special. The fact that so many people are missing that and screaming that its homophobic queerbaiting feels like such a gut punch as someone who's uncle died of aids and who is a lesbian themself. I think many of us wish we had a Robin when we were navigating everything.
Stranger Things is about friendship over all. Even the love triangle ended up not lasting and turning into a meaningful friend group. Max and Lucas being end game I think was important because he literally watched her die and spent two years by her side while she was in a coma. We can let em have that. The other relationships & crushes didn't last because they're kids and this show is about growing up & friendship. It's very rare that you end up with your high school love. This isn't a romance show. It's about friendship. And friendship as a gay man in the 80s was complicated. Robin & Will's friendship is more important than either of them's romantic relationships & crushes. Will & Mike's friendship is equally as important.
That scene that everyone is screaming "queer baiting" about is honestly SO GOOD when you think about how it takes place in the 80's. Discrimination for queer people was obviously significantly worse and coming out was even more taboo. Even before he contracted aids my homophobic family wouldn't even hug my uncle because he was gay. This was super normal back then!! Straight people referred to aids as "gay cancer" and even if you didn't have aids (like Will obviously didn't) gay men were treated like they had the plague.
A straight man in the 80s being comfortable with his best friend being gay is actually huge and probably very healing for a lot of gay men who grew up in the 80s to see. ESPECIALLY because it seems like Mike realizes he was Will's Tammy. A man realizing his friend has a crush on him back then was DANGEROUS. Mike not only accepted him, but he continued their friendship as normal. It was important to him that Will knew they were BEST friends.
The idea that men can't have deep, meaningful, affectionate friendships is a huge problem. It's something people can't see in media without assuming the characters are gay. It's gone on for generations. It's really really important to show platonic, affectionate friendships between men. The fact that one of the men in an affectionate friendship is gay & it doesn't change their friendship, especially in the era that it is in, is so powerful. It sucks to have your ship not become canon I get that but Stranger Things did such an incredible job with relationships and queerness as a whole imo as a queer person from the 90s (not quite the 80s).
It also really hurts as someone who lived through the evolution of queer media from queer people being Villains to the actual queerbaiting of the early Tumblr days to finally getting to see tiny glimpses of queer rep in Kora then more and more and more slowly but surely. And now FINALLY there's a lot more! It's not enough of course but we have come a long way. It's important to acknowledge that its not enough, but I thought Stranger Things did a really really great job. ESPECIALLY with everything I said above. Recognizing the relationship between lesbians and gay men was soooooo important omg. Robin's coming out scene was so big for me & I honestly thought they wouldn't even acknowledge Will's queerness directly and when they did I was so excited.
I'm just so sad that people are looking over all of that because they think their ship is more important. Especially the straight byler fans. Let me be very clear. If you are straight, you do not get to decide what is and isn't homophobic ESPECIALLY if you don't know queer history.
If you are a queer Byler fan and Will + Mike meant a lot to you, I am very sorry your ship didn't become canon. If you haven't seen it yet I really recommend heartstopper. I know its not the same, but I watch it when I need a cute love story. I hope you can at least acknowledge how important Stranger Things was for Millennial and Gen X queer people. And I hope the future brings more queer rep that can be healing for all of us.
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