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if when byler is canon it's going to completely change how media views queer characters. you can put queer characters through trauma, send them to hell and back, give them a story more than just being queer, and still make good media, still draw in the queer audience. being gay doesn't have to be the plot, it just has to be
Friendship Is Not Gay, Actually
I will die on this hill. I started seeing wholesome relationships destroyed by the need for romance and porn when I was about 13, and I have resented it ever since. I still remember being so young I didn't fully realize the issue with RoyEd (that issue being hebephilia) until I heard the voice actor for Roy disgustedly saying to a group of fangirls, "You're talking about a man in his thirties, and a 15-year-old boy!"
They're not all that bad, of course. Many are between consenting adults, but the insistence of canon is borderline infuriating at times. In most cases (not all, but most), it's not subtext, and it's not queerbaiting. It's you being so horny you see carnal desire in every instance of eye contact that lasts more than a split second. And you can see that, if that's what you want. And you can ship that, if that's what you want. But acknowledge that it's in your head, and stop being so offended when other people find it (or your obsession with it) weird or off-putting.
For the more degenerate pairings that have poisoned various friendships over the years, please acknowledge that the call is coming from inside the house. You're so proud of getting your freak on, like it's a healthy form of self-expression and recovery, like the freak was always there and you just embraced it. You didn't; you put it there yourself. And in cases where someone else planted the seed, you watered it. And again, you can do what you want. But if you want to be disturbing, stop being so offended when people are disturbed.
Just because two men (because this video was specifically about male friendships, though it happens to female ones as well) love each other or would die for each other, it doesn't mean they want to make out, have sex, or go for a walk under the stars. As stated in the video, just because the chair looks empty, it doesn't mean there's an invisible cat sitting there. Can we pretend the cat is there? Sure, as long as we acknowledge it's something we imagine for ourselves. Can we ask, 'What if there WAS a cat sitting there?' Absolutely. That's what fandoms and fanworks are for.
I'll sum it up with the quote from C.S. Lewis in this video: “Those who cannot conceive Friendship as a substantive love but only as a disguise or elaboration of Eros betray the fact that they have never had a Friend."
And, to sum it up further, a comment on the YouTube Video: "Those who can only see friendship as gay have never had a friend." ~C.S. Lewis
Subtext only seems gayer than actual text because it’s blatant. It’s put there purposefully. But what you have to figure out is what it’s put there purposefully for.
There’s a huge motherfucking difference between subtext used for queerbaiting and manipulation over an actual legitimate subtext. Xena does not fall into the category of subtext for wrong or selfish reasons.
It was severely censored. They COULD NOT do it.
But if you watch the show - you’ll quickly realize that it doesn’t even fucking matter that they’re not canon.
The creators agree with you anyway that they are.
The reason why it’s still the gayest TV show ever is because the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle is the most realistic depiction of love and therefore the best lesbian or WLW representation that there is. Part of the reason why is because they are the main protagonists. They’re the MAIN characters of the show. That may exist but it’s extremely fucking rare. The other part is that the creators see them that way. You get a legitimate lesbian love story because IT IS.
So it doesn’t matter that they’re not textually canon. In fact you could ever say it’s better that they’re not.
Because in a weird, ironic and hilarious way - the fact the show is censored helps a hell of a lot because the creators used the censorship to their advantage. They were clever and creative in getting around the censorship. They built on the relationship through it. And so it’s because it’s censored why it feels so real.
You don’t get canon text like “I’m in love with you”, “marry me” or “I want to have sex with you.”
You get: “It was like I was in a dream too. I forgot everything. But even though I didn't remember you..., I felt your presence. And knew that I would never be complete unless those shadows were brought into the light.” and “Gabrielle, if I'd only have thirty seconds to live, that's how I'd want to live them, looking into your eyes.”
Which is 1000x gayer than anything you’ll get today textually, subtextually or basically any romantic dialogue in a TV show said to another character ever.
Xena is just THAT GAY. It’s extremely gay. It’s a fucking queer show about queer characters. And it is that way because the creators made it that way. They purposefully made it that way. For the right reasons!
So don’t compare it to shit like ‘Supergirl’. The creators/cast/crew ridiculed you. They didn’t represent you. They baited you in and laughed at you. Xena do the opposite. They validate and love you.
A quick lesson in queerbaiting, re: Ted Lasso
Keeley saying to Rebecca, "You make me want to jump back into the ladypool" isn't queerbaiting.
Keeley saying to Rebecca, "I've never wanted to be in the ladypool, but you kinda make me wanna," would be queerbaiting.
The difference between them is that one of them is Keeley stating her sexuality vs. Keeley being used to let the audience know that she is super duper straight but also the writers want you to picture her fucking.
Why the fuck didn’t Thasmin kiss? River and The Doctor kissed, Rose confessed her love to the Doctor and kissed his clone, Amy kissed him
I’m seeing things like ‘they didn’t have to kiss to be queer’ and yeah. We know they’re queer, Doc has been since the dawn of time, and it’s explicitly stated that Yaz is. It’s not queerbaiting because both are canonically queer. But then they don’t do anything with that. ‘They don’t have to kiss to be queer’ is true but so is ‘romantic feelings towards the Doctor need to be resolved in a satisfying way to be good storytelling’ think Rose, think Martha.
It’s not queerbaiting but it’s not okay.
It was revealed that Yaz liked the Doctor in Eve of the Daleks. We had three episodes to explore this new side of her and we got fuck all.
We shouldn’t be satisfied with this. We shouldn’t be talking about ‘prolonged eye-contact’ we should be annoyed there wasn’t a better resolution here, that they didn’t try and tackle this earlier on
Everyone keeps going around and around in circles about whether Good Omens is queer-baiting or not, so instead of joining that in-fighting, I’m going to say what Good Omens did for ME. I personally do not view it as queerbait and can very clearly see the love and relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley. In fact, it was so blatant and clear that it motivated me to come out. Seeing the love and acceptance between the two, where they were both shunned and rejected but their supposed “family” literally gave me the courage to stop hiding and start being who I was. The overall non-binary of all the characters made me question my own gender and helped me to realize I may not be as cis as I thought I was. The way Aziraphale is viewed by Crowley and the fandom helped me overcome my body image issues and allowed me to realize that I am gorgeous and those who love me will agree. Soft is good. Good Omens helped my mental health enough that I am so much happier now than before I had watched it. And I know I’m not the only one, because I’ve talked to so many who agree. So, is it queer-baiting? That’s a question only you can answer for yourself. But does it really matter, if so many people saw themselves represented by these characters that it literally changed lives for the better? Does the technicality really do harm, when I’ve in fact seen the opposite from so many others in the fandom? Does not seeing them kiss outweigh the real life benefits to real people who for the first time got the representation they’d so badly been craving and being told by the creators that yes, they are in love and what you’re seeing is real? For me, it doesn’t.
Destihellers/Minions/M*sha: SPN queerbaited us for 12 years!
Me:
yeah no this whole thing with billie is soo...
She releases a queer as fck mv, says she like girls then when more ppl are sus then oh so conveniently SO MANY articles come out about her and her racist, homophobic, MUCH older 'boyfriend' yeah im not buying it :/
(also personally i’ve thought she’s not het for A WHILE...
cause ive gotten queer vibes before and im not heteronormative )
its all copy of a copy of a copy...
This has happened before...Celeb does something that shows is blatantly queer them then tptb start stunting...
After Taylor’s YNTCD mv, Harry styles (who’s been in a relationship with a man for 9+ years) has been portrayed as a womaniser since they were 16
ALSO his mngmt releasing pics of H and Olivia Wilde MONTHS before rumors start coming out to make it seem more ‘natural’
ngl i wouldn’t be surprised if 'she’ says she’s straight after the dust settles a bit
This is just my opinion from seeing this type of thing before.
tell me what ya’ll think x
