#but dismissing characters based on their looks or preferences doesn't solve the problem

[pharawee]

I love how City of Stars gave us a lovely scene with two people openly talking about their preferences and what they enjoy in terms of sex...

... only for people to argue that "it didn't go far enough" and somehow the show "chickened out" because in the end Krom wasn't vers and stated that he enjoys bottoming.

Just ?? ???

First of all, Fueang did explicitly say (several times btw) that he enjoys both topping and bottoming so there's your vers.

But mainly:

Do people actually realise how amazing it is that someone in a cute and lighthearted BL like City of Stars openly talks about enjoying being the bottom? Because this is almost never talked about. Everyone (in BL fandom spaces) always just seems to assume that the top is the active and fun and dominating part and the bottom is passively indulging and enduring - which leads to this weird and unhealthy implication that bottoming is somehow lesser and unappealing and "not queer enough".

Yes, pushing for a more diverse showcase of (sexual) preferences in BL is a good thing, but not if it comes at the expense of dismissing or belittling other preferences. Hell, according to reddit the most vocal group of bottoms are straight men getting pegged by their female partners, while a lot of queer people don't even enjoy anal at all. Their preferences say exactly NOTHING about who they are as a person.

It's not a hierarchy with verses at the top (lol) somehow magically transcending all the evil tropes and stereotypes in BL. Sexual preferences aren't a character trait, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to bottom exclusively.