#lance is bisexual

[melalot]

I think Bob caught on... (I saw a bunch of these on Tumblr but my friend added on to it so I made it)

[theashesofthefirststar]

Lance being a little shit to Keith because he's not ready to deal with his feelings is bi culture

[melalot]

Keith trying to find a heterosexual excuse for picking Lance

@undead-eggplant created the sentence lmao

[theashesofthefirststar]

I get that, for some people, Shiro being gay is "plenty enough." But please try to understand where bisexuals are coming from.

I grew up not knowing that gay and straight weren't the only options. I grew up with a lesbian mom who often talked down about "bi curious" women. I grew up never hearing the word bisexual unless it was uttered with a judgemental scowl. I grew up confused and ashamed.

And I'm not the only one. Because while more than half of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community identifies as bisexual, bisexual people experience alarming rates of invisibility, societal rejection, violence, discrimination, and poor physical and mental health—often at rates higher than their lesbian and gay peers.

My life would have been so different with bisexual visibility. All of ours would have been. So no, gay representation, while great, isn't enough for me, and it's especially not enough for this next generation of kids.

[theashesofthefirststar]

Lance's Love Interest

Okay guys. I could write a dissertation on why I think Keith will be Lance's love interest, but that’s pretty much already been done. So what I do want to talk about is why Lance's love interest won't be Allura.

Before I get into this, I feel obligated to say that I'm a big ol’ bi sexual. Meaning that I'm not against this ship because ew girls. I'm not against it at all. Sure, I don't ship it, but personal feelings about a pairing have no basis in cannon analysis.

Lets start with Lance's vlog

What I got from the vlog is that nobody lies to Lance like Lance lies to Lance. Like seriously, how Lance can breathe beyond those Layers of Bravado is beyond me. He spends the majority of the vlog talking about how Allura probably does like him because he's such a lady killer and yada yada yada, bull shit, bull shit, bull shit. You get the picture.

But then there’s this moment.

It's legitimately sweet. Lance is gushing not about how he's going to win over Allura or how awesome he is but about why he likes her so much. Only then he catches himself and goes right back into his Wow I'm So Awesome mode.

Then directly after this, he starts talking about how he's not ready to settle down, which is... strange. Yeah, you could argue that Lance is saying this because he's young, but the way it's presented makes it seem like he's covering something up, especially when you take into consideration Lance’s How to Fall in Love guide.

Lance loves love, not just as an end goal, but as an continuous endeavor. He understands it's hard work, but he wants to put in that work. Lance wants to be in love.

What I'm getting at here is, Lance really likes Allura, but I think deep down he knows she doesn't return those feelings. I mean, hes all like, 'Pff, yeah, of course Allura thinks I'm awesome, but sorry babe, can't hold this stud down' directly after we see him swooning over her, and honestly, how more obvious can it be that he's hiding his real feelings/over compensating?

Lance knows Allura probably wont ever return his feeling and us as the audience knows that too. Or at least we should. Seriously, if I could say there was one thing I really have against this pairing, it would be the fact that Lance continues to flirt with Allura despite her obvious discomfort with it. The only reactions to his flirting we've ever gotten from Allura are disinterest and down right disgust. Meaning, his feelings are not returned.

Oh, but you might say, well they could be one day, and that's where I'm going to have to disagree with you. I really don't think Allura would just suddenly start to have feelings for Lance, not when there hasn't been an ounce of romantic subtext between them and especially not when taking into consideration some of the comments made by the creators and voice actors.

Jeremy Shada said that Lance still thinks he has a chance with Allura, heavily implying that he doesn't. The creators said that Lance would end up with someone he needed, not wanted.

Even if you ignore the blatant fact that Lance has wanted Allura from the beginning, it still makes this scene and Lance’s choice of words really interesting.

Lance straight up said that "Sometimes we don't get what we want" while talking to Blue. And who is Blues new Paladin? That's right! Allura! She even walked in right after he said it.

I know this has already been said, but just for the hell of it, let me point out that they also said Lance would end up with someone self assured, something Allura is not. She doubts herself more than any other character and has from day one. In fact, it's Lance - one of the most insecure characters in the show - who gave her the confidence she needed in the season 4 final.

Now I really want to talk about this scene. I've heard people say that it parallels the 'We are a good team' moment from season one, and like, totally. It does, but apart of what this scene accomplished - at least to me - was solidifying the fact that Allura does not have feelings for Lance.

Lets break it down: There's the obvious differences between these scenes. Keith and Lance's has soft background music, unnecessarily long eye contact, fond smiles, a purple background (the combination of their respective colors), and a total mood shift. Its filled with romantic subtext and is also brought up later on several occasions. Lance and Allura’s moment had none of that.

Something less obvious Id like to point out is that if these scenes do parallel each other, then Lance would be the Keith in this situation and Allura the Lance. You may not agree with me, but I'm pretty positive that Keith has been low key pining for Lance since season one, which is fitting, because Lance has been pining for Allura. In Keith and Lance’s scene, Lance is drawn in by Keith whereas Allura merely glances back at Lance and then brushes him off. Insinuating that while Lance and Keith’s scene is a big moment to both of them and could be the start of feelings that Lance may go onto reciprocate, the same can not be said for Allura and Lance’s scene. In summary, Allura - being the Lance in this situation - did not show the same interest that Lance showed to Keith in their scene.

You could say that the situation was dire, and yeah, you'd be right, but for one, they don’t show us parallels for nothing. They're used as a means to compare and contrast. Two, Keith straight up almost got his ass handed to him in the midst of a battle all because he was too busy making doki doki eyes at Lance. Meaning circumstance isn't really an issue when dealing with this sort of thing.

The last thing I want to point out is, while Allura never reciprocates Lance's advances, Lance - in his own self deluded, deny the bi, sort of way - does reciprocate Keith's. First off, it should be heavily noted that Keith's interest in Lance is much more subtle than Lance’s interest in Allura, because as we all know, Keith has abandonment issues, walls, and all that fun stuff. He doesn't parade around his interest because he probably doesn't see it ever being returned, not realistically.

But he's wrong and here’s why: Lance feels inferior to the entire team, so the idea that he goes around challenging Keith and constantly vying for his attention out of pure jealousy/a need to prove himself makes no sense. If that were the case, he would behave that way towards everyone. Granted, Lance did think that Keith thought he was better than Lance, but in season two, Lance said, "I guess no one else thinks that" in regards to his marksmanship. Meaning Lance thinks that the rest of the team thinks hes not as talented as them also, and yet he treats them the same way he always has. Lance is literally obsessed with Keith, especially in season one. He's the embodiment of the boy pulling on the girls pigtail to get her attention.

He also talked about Keith in admiration when he wasn't around, wearing a similar face to that of the one he wears when hes flirting. Hell, he wears that same expression every time he teases Keith, but when he does it here, paired with this praise, we know it’s meant to be interpreted as a fond expression.

(also note that his expression morphs to this when he starts talking about Keith and only Keith despite the fact he’s praising the entire team)

He admires Keith. He wants Keith's attention and respect. He flirtatiously banters with him. He goes to Keith when making important decisions about his future and place on the team. He expresses ambiguous jealousy every time Keith is with a girl.

Allura does none of this. So if you want to say that she could possibly reciprocate Lance's feelings then you have to say the same for Lance towards Keith.

Look, my purpose here isn’t to dissuade anyone from shipping Allura and Lance or to down said shippers. I’m just trying to analyze cannon material and reach an conclusion. So my final theory on the matter of Lance’s love interest is that Lance has feelings for both Keith and Allura. He just doesn't get that he has feelings towards Keith for the same reason he doesn't want to admit he knows Allura doesn't like him romantically. He likes to keep a lot of things tucked away in his head and chooses ignorance over introspection until those thoughts some how make it to the forefront and he's forced to do otherwise. I think in season 5 the vlog will come into play and we'll see the summation of Lance's feelings towards Allura, but I have little to no doubt that it will not go the way he hopes it will.

And hey, if I’m wrong, I’m wrong. More power to you Allura and Lance shippers.

[theashesofthefirststar]

Why Bisexual Lance is So Important

Alright guys, I want to get a little bit personal with you. I can't explain just how important bisexual Lance is without explaing the journey to understanding my own sexuality first, so bear with me for a little bit.

When I was a kid, I spent a ridiculous amount of time agonizing about my sexuality. I knew I liked boys, but there was also this part of me that felt drawn to girls. In fact, I have vivid memories of going to church with my grandparents and hiding away in the bathroom, quite literally praying that god would give me some kind've grand epiphany. Seeing that part of my upbringing was rather conservative, of course I didn't want to like girls, and I remember thinking that god wouldn't be so unfair, that if liking the same sex meant being sent to hell - as my fudemental church taught me - then god wouldn't set me up to lose like that.

This part of my story is an universal experience amongst a lot of people in the LGBT community. But this is where it gets tricky.

My mom came out to me as a lesbian when I was about thirteen. I had my suspicions, but the point is, she never told me. I had already internalized my sexuality, and because she hid hers from me, it was only natural for me to do the same. In fact, the only person I told about my possible bisexuality was one of her girlfriend.

Fast forward several years and I'm seventeen. I have only dated boys and am currlently with my boyfriend of one and half years. He was a good guy, but ignorant. We both were. He use to say that he was fine with me making out with my female friends because it was "just fun". Lol, spoiler alert 2011 boyfriend, that's not the way it works.

So I inevitably developed a crush on one of these girls I'm having fun with, and after some Freaks and Geeks style Teenage Angst™, I tell my well meaning boyfriend that I think I'm a lesbian and break up with him.

It's a big deal for me. I come out. The conservative part of my family holds an intervention, my mom makes some joke about receiving my How to be a Lesbian handbook in the mail. I had a few girlfriends. I genuinely felt as if I was strictly attracted to girls. It was great...until it wasn't.

Eventually, I do start dating sleeping with guys again. At first, I make excuses. "Oh, no girls want to date me anymore." Or "I'm just lonely. It was one time." And I did have to make excuses. My friends would constantly interrogate me. My ex took me to be some lying slut instead of the sexually confused individual that I was. And perhaps worst of all was the fact that I grew up with a mother who was biphobic. She - like a lot of lesbians I know- had an issue with bi woman. And look, I love this woman to death, but growing up she would say horrible things about bi woman without realizing her own ignorance.

This is the first differentiator between what its like to be gay and what its like to be bi. Over fifty percent of the LGBT community identifies as bisexual, and yet are subjected to more decrimination than any other fraction of said community within their own community. In the straight world, bisexual people are treated as slutty or confused. In the gay world, they're simply treated as if they don't belong.

This stems from a much bigger issue. When my friends would interrogate me, they'd always ask, "So do you like boys or girls?" Or, it was always or, never and. Once I accepted my sexuality, this infuriated me. At least until I realized that I was the same way. We are conditioned to compartmentalize things, sexuality and gender especially. People are assumed straight until proven gay. Bisexual is never on the bracket. Most people dont even realize that liking both boys and girls is an option.

And for many people, when they finally do, there's such an internalized biphobia that accepting it becomes actually painful. Accepting it means constant judgment. It means being ostracized by your gay friends.

"You can come the party, but you cant bring your opposite sex partner," says my lesbian friend, completely ignoring the B in LGBT.

"Oh, I know you're bi, but if you haddddd to choose," says a thirty something year old, gay man - my friend.

"Becca, if you convince my husband that he's bisexual, I swear-" says another gay friend of mine who constantly rejects his partners sexuality because godforbid he be married to one of us two-sex loving heathens.

Theres a reason why Bisexuals are said to be apart of the "phantom spectrum". Because we are constantly treated as if we don't exist. But it doesn't have to be that way. Media is one of the biggest and long lasting influencers in our lives. It shapes who we are and how we view the world.

I'm twenty three, and it wasnt until I was twenty one that I begane to proudly wear the label of bisexual. Its too late for me. I can't go back in time and change those formative years, but with something as simple as explicit bi representation, we can save a generation of kids the same confusion and stigma that many bi people experience today.

So yeah, I'm a little bit fed up with people treating me as if wanting Lance to be confirmed bisexual is the same as me pushing my Big Gay Agenda on them. If that's what you really think it's about, then you are willfully ignorant to the unique experiences of Bisexuals.

[theashesofthefirststar]

Lets talk,

if Lance isn't going to be the one who has a LGBT arc, why would they take the time to make him(and only him) the blue in bisexual flag color schemes several times throughout the show? What about the official art with him looking bashful as hell as he and Shiro hold the LGBT sign? What about Blaytz- the original Blue Paladin - hitting on a male Galra servant in an episode set up to show parallels?? People keep saying that color symbolism, framing, juxtaposition, ect, ect, don't mean anything. Yall keep being like, Subtext? Nuances? Don't know her. Never heard of her. Don't wanna know her. In summary, yall wild. Take a basic course in cinematography/creative writing and get back to me.

[miraculous-aro]

Y’all up on here saying we’re getting queerbaited but friendly reminder that Lance is being coded bisexual which means he’s attracted to two or more genders. So like. Y’all.