Outdated Representation
I know that representation for whatever we needed kinda sucked in the 90′s. 80′s. 70′s. So we latch onto whatever baby steps we were given and cheer them....only to realize now how kinda...backwards they were even then. And it’s good to realize that. But I don’t think we gain anything by bashing/demolishing/refusing to even acknowledge it anymore. It’s never a good thing to pretend something didn’t exist. I just don’t think it helps anyone to retro-shame something that tried to be inclusive/against the norm.
Accept flawed narratives for what they are...flawed narratives that were Extremely Important at the time because not only was there literally NOTHING else, a full complete inclusion simply wasn’t possible with the limited forms of media that there were.
Example: There wasn’t an internet that was accessible-to-98 percent of the population in the 80′s/most of the 90′s. Shows like Will and Grace (the ‘sassy’ gay character we now consider stereotypical and undesirable) were incredibly risky for including a gay character at all. We needed that visibility then. We needed it, so that the idea could move from the fringes of people’s consciousness into the normality of acceptable narrative. We can afford to be choosier about it now BECAUSE of visibility.