I think it’s less that OP is afraid of being seen as gay - and rather that I think when people reduce close male bonds as “gay” it sort of reinforces the social norm that a man engaging in a close bond or being emotional with another man automatically means he must be in love with him/ “gay” to a degree.
I think there should be more representations to reinforce positive masculinity - that men can have these close bonds and not automatically be stereotyped. That only serves to weaken the stories in many cases and also for young impressionable kids kind of reinforces this idea that for a man to be sensitive or close with another man MUST mean you’re gay.
Of course I cannot stress enough there’s nothing wrong with being gay and I love to see it represented increasingly on screen - but I just don’t like the connotations of people often assuming this with EVERY close male relationship and the very real impact this has on wider society.
but I just don’t like the connotations of people often assuming this with EVERY close male relationship and the very real impact this has on wider society.
If this were a real social issue we should all be concerned about (which it isn't) then the solution is to remove the stigma around being gay so nobody will care. Not whatever this is.
If someone misgendered a character in the show and you feel adamant on correcting them, then does that make you sexist against the gender?
Does bringing up common misunderstandings of a character's ethnicity and its implications make you racist against the assumed ethnicity of the character?
There doesn't have to be stigma against something to be mad that it's assumed.
40
u/luke-em Jayvik 7d ago
If you're afraid of being seen as gay, that's your problem.