#chasing's biphobia meta
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I probably shouldn’t jump in on this but it’s bugging me so I’m just gonna say this and then be done with it.
There’s a lot of talk in the Roswell fandom right now about biphobia, specifically around characters (Michael) being made to “prove” their bisexuality, and perpetuating negative stereotypes (promiscuity).
And I really, really don’t want to invalidate anyone’s feelings because if that’s what you’re seeing in this show, that’s valid and it’s hurtful and I’m sorry you’re hurting. I’m not writing this post as a way to brush your feelings under the rug and say your experiences and trauma are negligible- I’m writing this because I’m seeing a lot of people that I’ve come to care about hurting and maybe, just maybe, I can show a perspective that doesn’t hurt.
(and also before I say any of this - I am an unrepentant Michael stan and an endgame, soulmates, nothing-will-ever-compare Malex shipper, so, context is key.)
Because I just... don’t agree that what we’re seeing is hurtful to the bisexual community.
The first part, regarding characters needing to “prove” their bisexuality in order to be seen as “true” bisexuals is in fact a massive problem in the bisexual community - every day, we’re told we’re not really bisexual unless we’ve “done both” - the moment we end up in a relationship where our partner is the same gender as our most recent partner, we’re suddenly “no longer” bisexual, because we’ve finally “picked one.” If we don’t literally keep a 1:1 ratio and jump back and forth like hopscotch, our identity is erased.
I’ve experienced this and it’s damaging. My father literally told me that I needed to sleep with multiple people of both genders for him to see me as valid - I was 18. He also told me once I “settled” (read: married) - I would either be lesbian or straight depending on the gender of my partner. My best friend, who is gay, told me “hmm I just feel like you’re gonna end up with a guy, in the end.” And that’s just the beginning. So when I say what I say next, I hope you know that I do it from a place of experience and solidarity.
Michael sleeping with, and catching feelings for, two people of differing genders on the show is not the show making him prove his bisexuality - it’s the show letting him express it. Your best friend telling you she won’t believe you’re bi until you’ve slept with “both” and a show portraying a character that sleeps with people from different genders are two very different things.
I have watched a lot of queer television. There’s a queer character on a show? especially a bisexual one? Holy shit I am so there. It is the one and sole reason I started watching Roswell. I chase representation, hard. There is nothing more enticing in a new show than the idea that I might get to see myself in it.
That said, it is still incredibly rare to see bisexual characters on television, especially bisexual men. And I’m not talking about in the last 5 years, because in just five years I have witnessed a rapid shift in television to include more queer characters.
But I didn’t grow up in the last 5 years, I grew up in the last 20. So I can count on one hand the number of bisexual characters I have ever seen that have been with (romantically or sexually) people of differing genders in any meaningful way, and I don’t know, probably never that those people weren’t just side characters.
So this is new, for us. Having a character canonically attracted to multiple people, regardless of gender, is a new thing we’re getting to see on television. And of course Michael shouldn’t have to sleep with people of different genders for people to believe that he’s bi, but no one whose opinion mattered ever doubted that he was bi when he said he was bi. So for me, this representation of him being with different people is representation of me. And I am Here For It.
More than that, there’s this idea that if a bisexual character enters a differing-gender relationship after leaving a same-gender one, that a show is abandoning queer representation because that relationship is “basically het.”
I’m not het. I’m not straight, none of my experiences are straight. I am queer (of the bisexual variety) and any relationship I enter into will by default not be straight because I’m not straight. There is more to the queer experience than the way that people look at you on the street and there is abso-fucking-lutely more to the bisexual experience than the way you’re treated when you’re in a same-gender relationship.
No this doesn’t mean that there isn’t a difference in experience (and oppression) between same-gender and differing-gender relationships from the perspective of the bi person - there absolutely is. But in both cases, a bisexual person will always always always feel unseen. So that difference is one of content, not quantity.
So - I don’t think that Michael dating/sleeping with/whatever he’s doing with Maria is invalidating to the bisexual experience. I think it’s a chance for us to finally see the bisexual experience. Finally see that it can just be that easy, to find a connection with anyone and see that gender just doesn’t really come into play at all because it’s not relevant to bisexual people - at least, not to me.
Now, the second part, the part where people are feeling... insulted, I think, that Michael sleeping with Maria after sleeping with Alex is perpetuating this very damaging stereotype of promiscuous, incapable-of-committing bisexuals.
I’m gonna take those one at a time (promiscuous/commitment issues) because I think they’re two different things.
I think a character, bisexual or not, being portrayed as promiscuous (by definition: having or characterized by many transient sexual relationships) is 100% a non-issue.
The real issue is that promiscuity is seen as a negative stereotype at all. The real issue is that being sexually expressive or sexually active is seen as morally reprehensible, as something that damages their character as a person.
And unfortunately this is a two-sided coin, the other side being that asexual, sexually shy, or sexually non-expressive is also seen as negative, but while I deeply feel it’s important enough to mention, it’s not the issue on Roswell right now.
The argument here is that the show is portraying Michael as promiscuous, which feeds into this stereotype that bisexual people can’t make up their minds and just go around sleeping with anyone and everyone without reservation or caring about anyone’s feelings and that not only is that the norm, it’s basically expected (see: my father).
And if Michael were the only character on the show displaying these behaviors, I could understand why people thought that the show were actively trying to push said stereotype - even if I don’t see that stereotype as a bad thing anyway.
But he’s not - not even close. Max and Cameron and Liz and Kyle - all of them have engaged in casual sex and both Max and Liz have hopped beds during this season. Casual sex (while again, not a universal experience by any means, nor should it be) is normal for adults of this age, and the show is portraying it as normal.
And by normal I don’t mean that like, it’s not messy - of course it’s messy and people get hurt and people do and say shitty things because they’re human. But the fact of engaging in casual sex, or sex with multiple partners within a short(ish) time frame, is not in and of itself problematic.
Now, to the part about the commitment issues - there’s this notion that the show is trying to portray Michael as having abandoned his feelings for Alex to hop on Maria... and here I’m kinda just.....confused.
“Where I stand, nothing’s changed.” “I never look away, not really.”
The show has made clear, intentional, explicit attempts to show that Michael is ass over teakettle in love with Alex and has been since he was a kid. But they’ve also made it clear that Michael hasn’t been celibate since Alex left - casual sex is a part of his life, he said it episode one.
And Michael tried with Alex - and Alex turned him down (honestly, for good fucking reasons, even if they break my heart). He tried and gave Alex everything he had and Alex walked away.
And Michael ... has no choice but to try and move on. And he doesn’t even do it right away, it’s not like it’s the next day or even the next week. His bed has been cold for weeks, months, before he even looks at Maria like that. And him looking at Maria like that? Caring about her and finding her attractive and wanting to touch her and be touched? Does not in any way negate the way he feels about Alex even if he’s trying to make everyone, including himself, believe that it does.
Is sleeping with his ex’s friend a shitty thing to do? Sure. I personally have very nuanced feelings about that whole thing and its place in media, but I won’t deny that what they’re doing is not just hurtful to Alex, it’s knowingly hurtful - Michael knows that what they’re doing will hurt him and he does it anyway.
But them making choices that are hurtful doesn’t make Michael a poor representation of bisexuality - not every underrepresented character needs to be a paragon of the moral high ground for them to be subversive to their stereotypes. In fact, I really believe that forcing underrepresented identities to always be perfect and do the right thing and make no mistakes and subvert every stereotype is far more problematic because it makes a statement that that identity is only worthy of respect and love when they behave.
So - let Michael misbehave. Let him sleep around. Let him try to drown his heartache in another person. Why should he have to be perfect when everyone else gets to be flawed?
No one is harder on queer representation and queer media than queer people - and I get it. We’ve had so much bad representation and we’re sick of it and that’s understandable. But it’s turned into this thing where every slice of representation has to be Perfect or it’s Garbage, and it’s leading creators to not want to try because they’re so harshly run off every time they do. And when they don’t try, they don’t learn, and when they don’t learn, they don’t do better.
And even if the show decides to ignore literally every precedent they’ve set thus far (would not be a first, believe me) and call it quits on Malex for good, Malex isn’t theirs anymore anyway. The instant the first fanfic posted to AO3, the millisecond that first AU gifset hit Tumblr - Malex became ours. We have enough on screen and off screen content to play around in for years to come and I really hope to see all of you on that journey with me.
If even after reading this, you still feel hurt and misrepresented and insulted by Michael’s relationship with Maria, come pop into my chat or my inbox and let me weave you tales of how that never happened, let me erase that reality from your whiteboard and replace it with something you love. Canon is just a craft store of materials - if you don’t want to use the red beads, then don’t. There’s a whole aisle of blue ones just down the way.
#malex#roswell new mexico#rnm#roswell nm#michael guerin#i just have a lot of feelings#i am absolutely more than happy to explain or extrapolate or clarify anything people don't understand#so long as you express that nicely#:)#michael guerin meta#rnm meta#chasing's biphobia meta
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ok i know bi percy is a popular-ish headcanon, but consider this: aromantic bisexual percy
consider: aromantic bisexual percy subconsciously faking romantic attraction to his female love interests (annabeth, rachel, calypso) and suppressing his sexual attraction toward boys (like beckendorf!) bc of internalized arophobia and biphobia, like he feels he owes romance to women and thinks his alloaro bisexual attraction makes him misogynistic, greedy, etc. and there's definitely some childhood trauma and issues surrounding his fathers (namely gabe and poseidon) contributing to his internalized arophobia/biphobia, bc he doesnt want to end up like the horrible men that didnt treat his mom right
and dont tell me this isnt super in-character, as if it isnt canon that his fatal flaw is loyalty and he has major self-hatred issues. this is the guy that only chose to be the hero of the prophecy so that nico wouldnt be burdened by it, bc he felt guilty about bianca and subsequently protective over him, like this is such a percy jackson thing to happen
#bi percy#aro percy#pjo meta#my meta#pjo#percy jackson#character analysis#annabeth chase#rachel dare#calypso#charles beckendorf#sally jackson#nico di angelo#bianca di angelo#internalized arophobia#internalized biphobia#implied child abuse#queer headcanon#bi headcanon#aro headcanon
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hello! sorry i’m just not sure what to think. i’ve id’d as a lesbian since high school (16 years old, i am 25 now) and it’s always kind of been a big part of who i am and how i see myself. but recently, i started hanging out with a coworker who is a man. and i kinda started to like him and we talked about it and started dating. for the past couple months i’ve id’d as bi, because a lesbian doesn’t sleep with or fall in 🖤 with men, but i don’t feel the same attachment to it as i did lesbian. 1/2
and in general, other than my coworker, i am still very much not attracted to men. i’m scared i’m having a chasing amy relationship right now, but i’m also scared that i put too much pressure on myself to be gay and to not find men attractive that i distanced myself from my “real” bisexual self.. and i’m also worried that both these worries are detracting from my current relationship, so i’m wondering if there’s a right answer or how i let it go? 2/2
Sounds to me like you already have a pretty good meta perspective on the whole situation. I obviously cannot tell you which label you should use but I can tell you that it’s normal to get attached to a label, especially if you thought it to be the one and only truth for a long time. But there’s no shame in changing one’s label. It doesn’t mean your time identifying as a lesbian was meaningless if you now identify as bisexual. And who really cares if you’ve “always” been bi and supressed it because of internalised biphobia - or if you just turned bisexual because of this guy? What matters is that you love this guy now. And you’re right that you should try not to worry yourself too much and try to just enjoy this relationship for what it is. If you ever break up with him, maybe you’ll only date women after him and go back to identifying as a lesbian. We can’t know that now so just wait and see what happens....
Some people’s sexuality is fluid and changes so maybe you were gay before and now you’re bi. The most important thing here is that it’s up to you to decide how you want to interprete your feelings and which words to use to describe them. Nobody else is allowed to judge that.
But there’s also the possibility that bisexual just isn’t clicking with you and that’s fine as well. Maybe check out other labels like queer, sapphic, homoflexible... or maybe don’t go with any label for a while (or forever).
Maddie
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Chasing’s RNM Meta Masterpost
ATTN: If you’re looking for my latest metas, check out my meta tag.
Howdy!
I write a lot about this show and most of it is not in any sort of chronological - or anylogical - order. So Imma try to sort it all out here and update this post with anything new - really I’m just posting this so I can link it on my blog for my own sanity and organization.
I’m sorting in a few different ways trying to capture everything - some stuff doesn’t sort well into specific episodes, and other stuff touches several characters/relationships - so many posts will appear more than once, but not all of them will. It’s a mix of post-season meta and meta written while I was still watching but the reactionary meta is generally indicated as such.
Anyway....
By Episode
1.01 (Pilot)
Inital Reaction
Did it get old for you?
Sob
1.02 (So Much For the Afterglow)
Good
Michael shatters
1.03 (Tearin’ Up My Heart)
Overall reaction - 1.03-1.05
1.04 (Where Have All The Cowboys Gone)
Overall reaction - 1.03-1.05
1.05 (Don’t Speak)
Overall reaction - 1.03-1.05
1.06 (Smells Like Teen Spirit)
Malex: Rumors; Prom; Guitar; Museum; Shed
Michael (post-shed)
Alex
Isobel
Max & Liz
Comfortable Lie
1.07 (I Saw The Sign)
What if it had been Alex Manes?
Alex Manes y’all
1.08 (Barely Breathing)
Alex Manes y’all
1.09 (Songs About Texas)
Alex Manes y’all
Re: Alex & the Rosa secret
Michael & Maria
Malex
1.10 (I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing)
Please tell me you’re in love with Wyatt Long
1.11 (Champagne Supernova)
Alien Brothers talk Malex
1.12 (Creep)
Initial Reaction
Song placement (Can’t Love Me)
That Scene (Malex prison scene)
1.13 (Recovering the Satellites)
Initial Reaction
By Character
Michael Guerin
post-1.05
post-1.06 (post-shed)
Guitar
What if it had been Alex Manes?
Michael’s bisexuality
“No” (prison scene)
every beating, every burn
post-1.12
Michael’s control
on michael & maria
season 1 arc (ask)
on malex - 1.09
love languages
Alex Manes
post-1.05
post-1.06
Shed
Alex Manes y’all (1.07-1.09)
post-1.12
Alex Manes doesn’t look away
Re: Alex & the Rosa secret
on malex - 1.09
love languages
Isobel Evans
post-1.05
post-1.06
Liz Ortecho
post-1.05
post-1.06
Max Evans
post-1.05
post-1.06
Maria DeLuca
on michael & maria
On Maria & Alex (Pilot - 1.10)
Please tell me you’re in love with Wyatt Long
Kyle Valenti
post-1.05
By Relationship (familial, or romantic)
Malex
1.01 initial thoughts
Did it get old for you?
Sob
Good
Michael shatters
post-1.05
1.06: Rumors; Prom; Guitar; Museum; Shed
Alex Manes y’all (mostly about Alex, but inevitably discusses Malex)
Alien brothers talk Malex (1.11)
Alex... and you, huh?
“No” - prison scene
That Scene (prison scene)
Malex 2008-2018
on malex - 1.09
love languages
Echo
1.01 initial thoughts
M&M/Candy/MiLuca
on michael & maria
Alien Brothers
What if it had been Alex Manes? (p1)
Every beating, every burn
Michael’s control
Isobel & Michael
Comfortable Lie
Maria & Alex
On Maria & Alex (Pilot - 1.10)
Please tell me you’re in love with Wyatt Long
Michael & Kyle
Alex... and you, huh?
Gen/Misc Metas
Michael’s Bisexuality/Biphobia
RNM: A Progressive Review
1.01-1.03 Timeline
RNM Season 1 Timeline
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