Bisexuality Doesn’t Exist, Apparently! (Second Draft)
As an out and proud lesbian revisiting my conflicting past, I can assure you that the only confusion I experienced was the dissonance between my feelings and societal pressures and influences. The only phase I had was when I pretended to be straight for fourteen years. I’ve had boyfriends. I’ve kissed boys, minimally explored their bodies. It did nothing for me, but, my experience with girls and women were something else entirely. I felt the sparks. I felt the fireworks. The butterflies. And in hindsight, reflecting on my own quirky characteristics in my youth, it makes sense that I’ve always been a lesbian. This option was never presented to me - neither in my own home, in the media, in school. I was never exposed to this alternate reality, and it’s because it’s such a taboo topic. Still. That was why in 2014, when I caught wind of this new show titled “Faking It,” I was ecstatic. I was thrilled to have mainstream lesbian or women who love women portrayals. I was excited to see a romantic storyline unfolding between two female characters. I was happy to think that this show would support the community, dismantle the stereotypes, and present what real, queer love really looked like. The reality of this show was anything but.
This show encompassed a lot and managed to turn around their horrendous beginning, but it was well into the season. Essentially, the two main characters, Karma and Amy, were faking being lesbians to gain popularity. Karma hoped to gain a boyfriend with some sort of reverse psychology about making herself more desirable if he perceived her as a lesbian. Amy, on the other hand, really was questioning her sexuality and had developed deep feelings for Karma - and finally had an outlet to give her affection and expand on their platonic relationship. Easily problematic setup. The show went on to shroud the rest of the community, with a gay male lead, a transgender character, an intersex character, a homophobic mother that eventually accepted her daughter - the whole shebang. What I have qualms about is the premise of the show. It glorified the myth that one can “go gay” with the title itself: Faking It. This myth survives because of how they manipulate ethos. Different characters offer inaccurate opinions on identities they don’t experience. Their ethos rests on stereotypical, self-defined representations of being a lesbian and excludes the genuine experience of being a lesbian.
“Liam thinks I'm a lesbian.” This simple line captures the entire essence of the show, which was the driving force behind all of the drama and antics throughout the series. Ethos is a strong influence here between these two characters. Liam’s heightened credibility comes from Karma, the main character, liking him. Her crush on him makes Karma believe his influence is worth sacrificing herself and her best friend, Amy, by pretending to be lesbians. This assumption is then substantiated at a public gathering, where Shane catches wind of Liam’s inference. The rumor then gains ground fairly quickly, and it travels all the way to the orchestrator of homecoming. Along with Shane, they both try to accommodate this supposed closeted lesbian couple by saying “We accept everyone.” This pathos is playing up to the crowd and the girls. The appearance of an open and accepting environment enables and coaxes someone to come out, like they're trying to get them to. This is an appeal to fear, in a sense, because they don't want them to be plagued with the fear of adversity. She embraces their rumored predicament with this statement and her pathos is impeccable.
To rally support from their assumption of Karma and Amy, Shane takes it upon himself to stand on a table as he makes his obnoxious announcement. This demands attention. People listen to him. The scene takes place in his house, and as a “popular,” he has easy access to most of the relevant student body. Speaking so clearly and profoundly, he has no shame and sees no problem in outing these two girls – regardless of the truth. Outing someone is troublesome in any sense, but it can be traumatic if it is not well received. Shane’s intentions were somewhat pure, but his execution is extremely flawed because he made the announcement to the entire student body, in retrospect, because that was how quickly the news traveled.
Shane is an openly gay character. If he suspects that Karma and Amy are lesbians, as a gay man, people are likely to believe him. Hence the gaydar: Gay people can typically spot another gay person from a mile away. His ethos comes from being gay, himself. His sexual orientation, along with his utmost confidence about Karma and Amy’s closeted lesbian situation solidified the notion that the rumor must have been true.
Liam’s ethos is composed of three things: being a wealthy, attractive male, being an artist, and being Karma’s love interest. As a physically attractive male – white, dark hair and eyes, athletic build with washboard abs and firm muscles – he already gains credibility. If for nothing else, being cute tends to make his words more valid, his intelligence more superficial, his mistakes more forgivable. As an artist (a sculptor), Karma attributes several qualities to him that make him sensitive and endearing rather than annoying and arrogant. As Karma’s love interest, he can virtually do no wrong. She’s so enamored by him and his aura that what she is met with at face value is exactly what she takes to heart and believes is true. Karma perfectly sums up his ethos with this line: “Liam's parents are rich, but he drives a beat-up biodiesel, which means he's socially aware. His best friends are a gay guy and a feminist, which means he's tolerant and accepting of strong women. And he's an artist, which means that deep down inside he's wounded.”
“Typical male, determined to prove your virility - by turning a lesbian straight,” Ivy retorted and scathed Liam so fiercely. She correctly accused him of this and he fit the ethos because he is a straight male – executing typical behavior. The execution of this playing out on the show was Liam’s superficial attraction to Karma with the intention of having sex with a lesbian - fixing a lesbian. In short, he’d wanted to have sex with someone who was depriving him of it by preference. This was subconscious because he was attracted to them, both Karma and Amy, and he’d hoped for the possibilities of coitus. The prospect of a threesome also lingers in the mind of too many men, and this showed up in a later season. Lesbian relationships are not respected, because people often fetishize them. It’s hot. It’s kinky. It’s a fantasy. And though that can be true, it is a wholesome, valid relationship between two humans above all else. This has ties to the myth that one can “go gay” by implying that one can turn on and off their sexuality. A woman can be a lesbian one minute, and please a man the next. Liam’s perception of it was that Karma can be a lesbian all she wants, during the day, but at night, she’s going to be straight with him. He could make her straight, for an hour or two. The sexual anticipation of redemption, winning the prize of access to a lesbian’s core, invalidates the reason why someone identifies as a lesbian: the sole attraction to women. There is no place for a man, no penile satisfaction or gratification. However, Liam had already inserted himself into a concept he has no role in. It is not a negotiable, wishy-washy thing. It is not as flippant as they depicted it.
Karma’s character is a little more sullied than his, however. Her ethos comes from her bond and long-lasting friendship with Amy. Karma is manipulative and selfish by nature. Throughout the entire show, her ploys were for her own benefit. More often than not, she dragged Amy through the mud to make it happen, brutally reminding her of her loyalty by listing instances where she’d blackmailed Amy into supporting her. As for Amy, the ethos that heightened Karma’s appeal and gave her grounds to be taken advantage of so often were her romantic feelings for her. Amy harbored a secret love for Karma, doing anything for her because of it. The situation had perks initially, because she was attracted to Karma. Presenting herself as a lesbian provided her with an outlet to explore and simulate what a relationship with her would look like.
“Everyone has a lesbian phase in college.” Karma’s logos here is that this was expected and accepted behavior. Therefore, it should be fine to experiment and deviate a little for her own personal gain. And when she changed her mind later, it wouldn't be as reckless because it could be deemed her lesbian phase. Bringing Heinrichs into context, she’s using induction. However, this logos is a fallacy because it is a generalization. Generalizations usually are impeded by the slippery slope, but this is problematic because it is ignorant. The use of the word “phase” is off-putting because especially for lesbian or queer women, it questions and challenges the validity of it. It perpetuates the idea that sexuality is once again a choice - whereas the real and only choice is choosing to explore your sexuality. Dismissing something as a phase and writing it off as something in passing is damaging. It’s deterrent behavior with the expectation of the perpetrator coming to their senses, but that does not account for those who never deviate from their “lesbian phase.” Some women die in their lesbian phases. Gay men, too.
“Amy, we were invited to the hottest party of the year,” makes the prospect of it sound pretty enticing. The Kairos assisted the choice. The timing encouraged them to go along with it. The happenstance of all of the perks simultaneously made the concept more attractive. The timing of it all prompted less thought and more spontaneity for the instant gratifications of it. It was an easy persuasion to conduct for Karma. Amy sought popularity as well, though she did have qualms about how they were attaining it.
“Straight guys love lesbians, just watch any porno,” is another kicker. Although severely flawed logos, she uses that as more inspiration to follow through with their plan. She will act the part of a lesbian in order to make him fall for her. It seems logical, but is not. At all. Considering Heinrichs, this is the commonplace. It’s a weak stance to take because it has shaky foundations – also because her susceptibility to believing this is skewed because she hopes that this “fact” will work in her favor. This was a constant motif in this show as well. Karma’s entire rationale began with grabbing Liam’s attention, and when she couldn’t impress him on her own, being a lesbian sprouted into her mind. Another misconception is that female homosexuality is in some way to please and entertain a man. It does away with all of the intrinsic factors of being with another woman - the obvious attraction, the possible connection and intimacy shared, the possibility of a love being present. Female bodies are sexualized from birth. It’s almost pedophilic, the expectation of a woman to resemble a baby’s or a child’s with the absence of hair, the smooth silkiness of the skin, and the elasticity and flexibility of the body. It does not come as a surprise that men are attracted to lesbians - it presents them with more than one woman to ogle. This ventures into the realm of pornography, where depictions of lesbian activity are only accepted if the women engaging in the activities are gender-normative - identifying as female as well as presenting themselves as women. The mentioning of pornography in the script goes to show that this is a widely known phenomenon. This is bothersome because beyond the invasion of privacy of another watching something so intimate transpiring between two individuals, it is still directed towards the male gaze. The lipstick, the stilettos, the bareness of their bodies - it is catered to men, even when it is about women. Karma ignorantly supported that with her statement.
Karma loaded up on her Aristotelian appeals when speaking to Amy, there. She used her own ethos by reminding her of her allegiance with “your oldest and dearest friend.” Then, she squared it by packing it with pathos by identifying herself as “the one who never told anyone that you got pubes in the second grade.” She’s persuading her by reminding her of her past altruistic endeavors in Amy’s favor, so that Amy can compromise something for hers. The hole in her plan is that she’d overlooked the required effort of the two, and they cannot be compared. Keeping a mundane secret is not tantamount to sacrificing and exploiting your sexuality for popularity. This contributes to the myth because Karma is under the false notion that presenting a sexuality one does not have is the equivalent of being a good friend. Because they are best friends, Amy should violate her feelings and morality for Karma’s benefit. Because they are best friends, Amy should pretend to be something that she’s uncomfortable with. Because they are best friends, they should fake a relationship so that Karma can swindle a boy into falling for her. But this is not a valid scenario because sexuality cannot be faked, no matter what coercion takes place.
“I guess that makes me the butch one.” That’s not necessarily true. The two are not mutually exclusive, although it is perceived that way. Two women can be femmes, and two women can be butch, and sometimes, they can mingle. It does shed light on the fact that Karma is the feminine one and is getting attention from Liam, and if Amy is the butch one, she has no one fawning over her. That’s a desensitized morality of gender roles. “Being gay finally made me interesting,” Karma said, and with such conviction. The way people receive the news that someone is gay strikes me as overcompensation. Straight girls want gay best friends to go shopping with, but squirm away when he doesn't fit that flamboyant stereotype. Straight boys want a lesbian around so she can be one of the guys, but grow confused when she retains her femininity. This open-armed acceptance stretched a little too far and a little too thin when assessed in different contexts. Girls don't want the gay boys that don't present themselves as flaming homosexuals, sassy and sexy in the way they walk and talk. They don't have room for the more introverted gays (and trust me, there are many outside of the stereotype). It doesn't fit their aesthetic. Simultaneously and funnily enough, they seek gay best friends, but scorn and shy away from lesbians anywhere near their proximity. Males want lesbian companionship, but only the hot ones with the long hair, petite and feminine figures, and those who generally present themselves as women. And if another type of lesbian, say, a butch one, comes around, suddenly they aren't as friendly or forthcoming. It has as much to do with appearance as it does attraction. The infamous “I don't mind gay people as long as they don't flirt with me” trope exists in the minds of too many. It is across the board in males, too - even ones that would testify against being homophobic. Too often in that specific population, they seek friends of the opposite sex, but are adverse to ones of the same sex. This is a widespread problem that needs to be addressed, yet shows like Faking It continue to support the clause by having scenes that represent this without explaining why it is not accurate. Sexuality is not defined by the wardrobe of a person. A girl cannot tie a plaid shirt around her waist, throw on some baggy pants, and deem herself a lesbian.
“And in this school, you have to stand out to fit in, and I’m so ordinary,” is an unfortunate quote that does have parallels to the lives of many. “Let’s be lesbians,” Amy hesitantly agreed, but becoming a lesbian is not and should not be an option for being different. Even writing becoming a lesbian made me cringe, because no one just wakes up one day, deciding to be marginalized. Deciding to be discriminated against. Deciding to disappoint their parents and make their counterparts suddenly uncomfortable. Deciding to have their rights questions – the value of their lives questioned. By contextualizing it, no one would choose such a thing. That is why venturing as far as identifying differently after an experiment is inherently damaging and demeaning to those who truly bear the burden of coming out.
My key pattern in my analysis is a resounding ethos appeal. Pertaining mostly to the show, the only excuse I can make for all of the fallacies are the desperation for Liam to like Karma, and his engorged importance because of it. The main Aristotelian appeal to be made in general with this hoax however is that of pathos. Pathos - getting emotional, getting people to resonate with your strong emotion - is key in understanding the disheartening nature behind going gay. People don’t understand the effect their words have without emotion being roused from it. Unless they are homophobes trying to upset someone with a claim that ignorant, they don’t understand the impact of their words.
“Going gay” carries much more weight than those who say it so flippantly intend. Being gay is a journey, and it is not always as easy as kissing a person of the same sex and enjoying your new, gay lifestyle. If one doesn’t deal with the anxieties and uncertainties of coming out (or the fear of being outed), the fear of the possible adversity they might face (berating, bullying, abuse, threats, homelessness), or the insecurities they’re plagued with from developing feelings towards a person society condemns, they haven’t gone gay. It isn’t something that occurs overnight. “Going gay” is a complete change of lifestyle, and if one cannot accept and face the strife that accompanies it, they’d better keep that ignorant and false revelation to themselves.
