This is just an angry rant because I've been scrolling the Byler tag.
Stop, and I mean STOP, calling Bylers 'fetishizers'. I, unlike you, am a member of the Byler community which means I actually KNOW who's here. A lot of us are LGBTQ. I'm actually present and participating, unlike you, so I know what this community is largely made up of. It is homophobic to try and reduce queer people to a 'fetish'. The popularity of BL doesn't mean that the fans of queer mlm characters/ships are just straight BL fans. BL doesn't erase queer people in fandom or reduce our numbers. And it's homophobic and ignorant to say otherwise. Queer people will love and support queer ships, including mlm ones. We don't just disappear because BL exists.
BL fans are welcome and I don't have a problem with them in this fandom: I have a problem with people who dislike Byler insisting that Byler is essentially a BL ship with 'straight' fans. That is not what makes up a large chunk of this fandom. And it absolutely pisses me off to see queer people called 'straight fetishizers'. Even the Bylers here who are straight are not fetishizers, like come the fuck on. I'm actually here and see people.
I hate to see Bylers, who are incredibly smart, always surprising me with genius theories that the other side could never come up with, called this damn word. I love and admire this amazing community here. I love everyone here.
And I am so damn tired of people arguing that queer people shouldn't get the story that is actually uplifting and inspiring for them, instead of a story that is a heavy reminder of how shitty real life can be as a queer person. Absolutely no one who's queer wants to see a [checks notes] 'real representation of gay life in the 80s' where they fall in love and experience heartbreak. Queer people in the 80s met each other and fell in love. It's not somehow 'more 80s' to be rejected by a straight person. And absolutely no queer person who experienced the 1980s really wants this story. Who the fuck does? If you want to demand a 'real representation of the 80s' you might as well demand to see men with AIDS. We're not seeing that because this is supposed to be hopeful and inspiring.
And I'm sorry but the argument that El is 'disabled' and therefore deserves love with Mike is very questionable. El is arguably not disabled, though she does have trauma from her abusive upbringing. If she were disabled, I don't think what she needed was a silly boyfriend who made her feel insecure in season 3, and then made her feel ashamed and 'like a monster' in season 4. Even between 3 and 4, she felt deeply insecure about herself with Mike. Let's be real, when a girl is recovering from a deep trauma, and in this case joining society after being isolated and abused, what she needs is family, a real father, and good friends. What she absolutely does not need is a boyfriend and all of the immaturity and insecurity that typically comes with that. Who would recommend a boyfriend for a girl like this, from 13, in real life? I do not understand why people are genuinely trying to argue that El having this boyfriend is of great importance. El having a family, a found family, including platonic friendships that she feels secure in, that's what's of importance for a character like El.
Queer people have every right to be concerned about the potential for queerbaiting, and no, we're not going to direct our anger at Noah if we do get queerbaited because guess what? Noah is gay. It's not his fault. He's a member of our community, yes, the lgbtq community, which a lot of Bylers are members of. And it wouldn't be directed at anyone but the creators, writers, producers. The people who put that queer subtext between Mike and Will in the show.
What pisses me off the most, is that Stranger Things is clearly a show for queer people, to inspire and uplift queer people, and yet the queer fans who have seen all of the Mike/Will subtext are reduced to 'fetishizers' (and teenage girls, which is a misogynistic way of dismissing Bylers and their intelligence), and called 'delusional'. Despite many of them having the skills, acquired through education and actual professional jobs, to see that Byler is real. People who actually know about film and storytelling are seeing Byler.
Just because you can't see subtext/don't particularly want to see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. You can't just will subtext away. I don't believe you people even know what subtext is. Please go and learn about the Mike/Will subtext of Stranger Things if you're going to say shit about Bylers, I beg you. The uneducated ignorance of the subtext is pissing me off. I've been incredibly patient but I've had enough. I will not tolerate people being ignorant of the subtext anymore. I wasn't going to link this article anymore because at this point I feel like I should be employed, but the subtext is explained perfectly HERE . Everyone should start there, it's Stranger Things 101, everyone who's a fan of Stranger Things should read it to fully understand the basics of its subtext. I simply cannot deal with the ignorance of the other side anymore - information is out there, so learn. Please, for the love of God.
