jmourning replied to your post “Do you think the negative attitude in the fandom...”
I was and am rather appalled at some "fans" on Twitter before season 2 of GO was announced voicing their displeasure at "old" fans (meaning female fans) shipping "two old men" - I mean, I personally think DT and MS are both quite attractive and as I was late to Fandom had mostly seen positive interactions across the Fandom, most debates about body type and sexual preferences of the characters. I'm still shocked at the ageism.
It really is something, isn’t it? What’s interesting to me is that it seems like there are two types of GO fans unique to Twitter, but on opposite sides: The ones who constantly sexualize Michael and David and talk about their bodies in a “positive” way; and the ones who do not view Michael and David sexually and talk about their bodies in a negative way, even if indirectly.
But what’s not unique to Twitter, sadly, is the ageism. The idea that it’s only okay to ship characters/people if they’re under a certain age. What these fans don’t realize is that life doesn’t stop when you are 30, and neither does love. An entire facet of Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship (almost all of it, it could be argued) is that they didn’t fit in where they were from, and it was through their relationship with each other that they found and accepted who they are. Even though everyone and everything else in the universe had decided it was too late, Aziraphale and Crowley got a second chance with each other. They chose each other, exactly as they are, That is another facet of the show and their relationship--that Aziraphale doesn’t measure up to the “ideal” physical standards for an angel. And despite that--or perhaps because of it--Crowley chooses him.
Going back to the previously mentioned Twitter fans, that type of reaction makes me angry on a different level when thinking of Michael and David. If Michael and David are in a relationship--speaking hypothetically here--wouldn’t that be something that would make them feel reluctant to be public about it? Fearfulness of the potential response, for a number of reasons--both of them already being in “monogamous” relationships with women, the impact on their careers due to homophobia/biphobia in the industry--and particularly fear of judgment from people because they had the unmitigated gall to find each other when they weren’t young and pretty.
The truth be told, neither of those extremes--sexualizing or shaming--are good. Both dehumanize Michael and David and reduce them to a commodity, albeit in different ways. I know they are actors and fans feel this weird sense of ownership over the characters (and them, by extension), but...can’t we just treat Michael and David like people? Can’t fans stop looking at them and seeing exaggerated (positive or negative) versions of Michael and David, and see them as who they actually are? I think that’s all anyone wants, really...
