#mike wheeler is queercoded

[blingyu]

since netflix wants to talk about hidden rainbows in their shows, i think this scene in vol 2 is funny

they show argyle and his silly little rainbow socks and then bam we’re gonna pan up to mike wheeler’s face

[gayofthefae]

Say what you will but just like season 1 actually queercoded both Will and Mike through bullying, 4x01 queercoded both Will and Mike too. In both of their establishing school experiences:

In History, a girl tries to play footsie with Will but he pulls away.

At lunch, Mike sits with his new D&D club which is described as "promoting sodomy".

(even the tones of queercoding shows which kid stayed in Hawkins😬)

[theladyrebecca2]

Bylers: have you watched the movie Billy Elliot (2000)?

I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago, and oh my god... I was casually enjoying this queercoded coming-of-age story set in the 80s, following Billy (short for William, I happily noted with my Byler brainrot), only to have a mini heart attack when it was revealed Billy's best friend's name was Micheal.

Guys. I have to talk about this movie, and its possible inspiration for some aspects of Stranger Things.

Okay, so this movie came out when the Duffer Brothers were only 16 years old; it was such a hit that it was turned into one of the world's most famous musicals, which eventually came to the USA/Broadway in 2008 when the Duffers were 24 years old.

I can't help but wonder if, like Harry Potter and E.T. and all the other movies that the Duffers grew up with, this was another story that might have captured their hearts as they were growing up.

Plot

Here's a breakdown of the movie (or at least, the most relevant points I want to highlight), with some info taken directly from its Wiki page because that means I can finish this post quicker:

Billy Elliot is a British coming-of-age comedy-drama set in Northern England in the 1980's.  In 1984 Billy Elliot, 11 years old, lives with his maternal grandmother, his widowed father, and his older brother - the latter two working as coal miners during the 1984-1985 mining strikes under Margaret Thatcher. (For those who don't know UK politics, Thatcher was the Prime Minister when Reagan was President of the US. Both governments were right-wing/conservative).

Billy's father is heavily depressed, grieving his late wife and struggling to make ends meet for his family during the strikes. He sends Billy to the gym to learn boxing, but despite Billy's efforts to enjoy it, he's unwilling at heart.

We first meet Billy's best friend outside the gym. Michael watches intently as a boy walks by - I noticed this and immediately filed it away as potential queercoding...

Billy is unkindly pushed by the boy as he walks past, which indicated to me that Billy - and probably Michael too - are likely seen as outsiders or losers.

Billy wants Michael to join him in the boxing class, but he's quick to reject the idea. Hitting boys for sport isn't something Michael finds fun at all.

Boxing = acceptable masculinity and conformity, much like baseball is used as a metaphor in Stranger Things. Once inside the gym, Billy notices the ballet class using the gym after the boxing session, and despite it being an all-girls class, decides to join in. Even though he clearly enjoys it, Billy is nervous what other people will think of him.

He only opens up about it to Michael. They briefly ditch the other boys in their sports class, taking a different route so they can speak privately. Michael encourages Billy to continue dancing ballet, to just be himself and have fun. Michael is queercoded further by sheepishly admitting he thinks Billy would look good in a tutu.

Billy is taken aback at Michael's admission, but makes no comment. The scene continues with them in high spirits and laughing together.

Billy hides his ballet shoes under his bed mattress, keeping his lessons a secret from his dad and brother (+ I couldn't help but notice the blue-and-yellow:

The scene above flows directly into a scene of Michael and Billy at school, and we can see Michael's adoring gazes at his best friend (notice the lyrics 'don't look back and I love you' sort of lining up with the moment):

Soon it becomes clear that Billy truly has a rare talent for ballet: the class teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, believes that he's talented enough to study at the Royal Ballet School in London. She advises him to attend the upcoming auditions, and dance professionally instead of becoming a miner like his father and brother. Billy visits Michael at his house for advice. Michael answers the door wearing his sister's dress, startling Billy, who looks around quickly to check if anyone else can see them. Michael insists he's "just dressing up", and once inside, applies lipstick onto Billy so he can join in on the fun.

Michael likes that Billy is doing the thing he truly enjoys, but he doesn't like the idea of Billy having to move away to London. He expresses that he'd miss him. This scene makes it clear that Micheal and Billy can only truly express their true selves around the other.

When Billy's father discovers that Billy is taking the ballet classes instead of boxing, he forbids Billy to continue. He fears Billy will be considered gay. Billy doesn't seem to care too much now what other people think of him; he loves dancing, and that's all that matters.

(Bonus: Billy fires back at his dad with a comment about the kind of lads that like wrestling...)

Whilst things are tense with his Dad, Billy remains passionate about his dancing. He secretly continues his lessons with the help of Mrs. Wilkinson. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilkinson's daughter, Debbie, expresses romantic interest in Billy... but he seems unsure on how to proceed with her approaches. After pillow fighting, when given a clear opportunity to kiss her, he doesn't take it.

Eventually, Debbie asks Billy if he fancies her. He skirts around the question, making it clear that he's never considered Debbie romantically.

At the end of this scene, Debbie explicity asks Billy if he wants to "see her f*nny" (yikes)... Billy, uninterested and arguably uncomfortable, brushes her off with a firm "nah", and walks away. Whilst I'm sure many would argue that this doesn't necessarily mean Billy isn't straight, I think having him explicity reject her advances here, along with everything else in his narrative, is heavy queercoding.

Anyway. Moving on.

When Billy's older brother is arrested during a clash between police and striking miners, Billy misses his audition for the Royal Ballet School. Mrs. Wilkinson decides to tell Billy's family about the missed opportunity, but Billy's father and brother are outraged that Billy has continued with his ballet. Whilst his brother and father judge him, Micheal freely allows and even celebrates Billy.

At Christmas, after building a snowman together, Micheal wonders out loud if maybe Billy should just run away and join a dancing troupe somewhere else. When Billy tells him not to be stupid, Micheal concedes... he doesn't want Billy to go anywhere.

When Billy complains that his hands are cold, Micheal places them inside his own coat. The boys share a charged moment. Billy seems confused; Micheal shy (+ notice the rainbow Xmas lights framing Billy).

Billy learns that Michael is gay, and has feelings for him. Billy acknowledges that just because he likes ballet, it doesn't mean that he's gay too. This could be confirmation that Billy isn't gay - maybe he's ace, or unlabelled, or still questioning - and yes, it's absolutely true that his love of ballet is no indication either way of his sexuality.

But whilst this scene is, on a surface level, an unrequited love confession, it's also not explicit confirmation on Billy's sexuality (just like him turning down Debbie wasn't either). It's just very interesting when you compare the way Billy handles Debbie's feelings for him, to how he handles Micheal's feelings for him.

Note that Debbie is placed as Billy's female "love interest" in the same way that Micheal is his male "love interest" - both of them parallel the other in their feelings for Billy, and both of them express that they'll miss Billy if he goes to London.

Billy and Michael then sneak into the empty gym together. Billy gives Michael a tutu to wear, and they share a very sweet moment. Billy can dance, become his true self; meanwhile Micheal can wear something feminine, also feeling more like his true self (bear in mind he's just come out to Billy moments before this too).

They're both completely free together.

Unfortunately, on his way back from the pub, Michael's father notices that someone has broken into the gym. He fetches Billy's dad, who watches Billy from the sidelines, and realises his son is truly passionate, and truly talented, about his dancing craft.

Although stunned at first, he resolves to do whatever it takes to help Billy attain his dream. This is a huge turning point in the movie - Billy's family have come to accept him. They love him, no matter what.

There's another scene of Billy and Michael at school, which I think underlines how close the two of them still are. (This was also the scene where I heard Michael's name said for the first time, and practically fell out of my chair...)

With the help of his family and the community, Billy is finally able to attend his next audition in London. Sometime later, the Royal Ballet School sends him a letter of acceptance, coinciding with the end of the miners' strike, and Billy leaves home to study in London - but not before saying goodbye to Michael, reciprocating the kiss on his cheek.

In 1998, 25-year-old Billy performs as the Swan in Swan Lake whilst his father, brother, and Michael and his (assumed) current partner or friend watch with awe and pride from the audience.

Sexuality

Okay, so, disclaimer: it seems the mainstream reading of Billy and Michael's relationship is that Michael is gay but Billy is not. I can't help but disagree with this take! I don't condemn it, but I just don't think that's what this movie was telling us (and I don't understand why they included certain scenes otherwise, e.g. the ones with Billy rejecting Debbie, or Billy reciprocating Michael's kiss on the cheek).

Giving Michael an unrequited crush on his best friend is frustratingly a lot more palatable to a mainstream audience, so I'm wondering if the time it was produced/released (90s/early 00s) is the main factor here, or whether they expanded on Billy's sexuality in the musical version to make him more hetero?? (and the musical is definitely the most famous version of the story these days). However, in this movie, Billy already makes it very clear to Michael halfway through the movie that he accepts him as gay, and that their friendship is not ruined by Michael's romantic feelings for him - so why then would we end the movie with Billy echoing Michael's romantic sentiments by kissing him on the cheek at the moment of their parting? And a somewhat flirty "see you", promising they'll see each other again? It's a very bittersweet moment either way. The two best friends will likely be separated for many years whilst Billy attends the school in London, although I'm sure the audience can expect them to keep in touch via phone or letters. In fact, that's confirmed by the canon narrative, because how else would Michael have known that Billy was debuting as the Black Swan when they're 25 years old? Billy's father and brother act like they haven't seen Michael in many years, but recognise him from Billy's childhood. Maybe Billy and Michael have been in contact the whole time. Maybe Michael moved out of the small country town long ago, and found himself in the big city, just like Billy did? I'd like to think so. Michael is shown to have a partner or friend at the end when they're adults - perhaps this is another reason why the mainstream audience read Michael as gay, and Billy as not? There's no indication either way that Billy has a partner, man or woman - it's left completely open. The existence of Michael's potential partner suggests that Billy and Michael aren't currently together, but that's it! Personally, I just couldn't help but read Billy's kiss to Michael at the end as Billy coming to terms with his budding sexuality (or that he was, at the very least, now open to the idea he may not be heterosexual, and is no longer ashamed or afraid of it). I think that was a powerful character arc for its time.

To me, Billy is dealing with internalised homophobia throughout the entire movie. He fears being perceived as gay because of his interest in ballet, and denies it several times. The fact he loves to perform ballet is NOT relevant to his sexuality! This is a point made explicit in the movie, and I love that. But what is relevant is that he rebuffs the girl who has a crush on him, yet reciprocates a romantic gesture with the boy who has a crush on him. Like, hello?? The subtext is crying out.

Byler nation, I'm begging you to watch this movie so you can form your own opinion on this.

Themes

The themes of Billy Elliot echo many of the themes found in Stranger Things, including grief, family, love, self-acceptance, and most notably, the celebration of the non-conforming. Homosexuality and "queerness", a taboo subject in the 1980s, is also at the forefront of this story.

Billy is not Will, and Michael isn't Mike - rather, they're both a mixture of each. Will, Billy and Michael are all from poor, working class families. Mike and Billy share a position where two members of the opposite sex harbour romantic feelings for them. All four of them subvert gender norms in different ways, some more obvious than others. Michael's self expression and even gender exploration is found through trying on makeup, or crossdressing; Billy's self expression is found through the art of dance. Both of them reject the restrictive inhibitions (and forced conformity) of their community... just like Will, and hopefully Mike come S5. Like Will's escapism into art, fantasy and DnD in Stranger Things, dance is a metaphor for Billy's passion, as well as his escape and frustration.

"Billy's subversion of traditional masculine "gender performativity" is highlighted against the contrast of extreme masculine working-class society. With this focus, Billy Elliot has the position of being "the first mainstream British entertainment to directly interrogate homophobic prejudice as a function of patriarchal society.

The impact of its empowering message of acceptance entered public discourse and education campaigns thanks to the prominence and financial success of the show." - x

Bonus parallels

I just wanted to add this particular moment because... well, you know. I'm making this post for the threads it shares with Stranger Things.

(Context: Billy is answering a question about how it feels when he's dancing).

And then, here... a letter is read from, from Billy's deceased mother, addressed to him. Dear Billy.

And finally:

So what do you think, Byler nation?

[kdkdnfuiahuag]

“i think there is someone he likes, because he has been acting… weird.”

i think about this quote a lot because, if you think about it, it doesn’t actually make that much sense in context to will. we all know that by this point it is a canonical fact that will is in love with mike, and since el is talking about will in this part of the letter, we automatically assume it must be about him, right?

except that doesn’t make sense. throughout season four, will really isn’t acting strange; he isn’t out of character, he’s not behaving differently, he’s not being “weird”. sure, he seems a bit more in his head and has a lot more longing glances and stuff, but that isn’t significant enough to be pointed out in the first line about him in the very beginning of the season.

if will isn’t acting significantly different i’m season four, why put that line in?

it’s because it’s not about him.

who do we see acting weird in season four? who’s being strange and distant? who’s “out of character”? who’s changed?

mike.

this line is in there because they want you to notice that mike is acting weird, they’re explaining why, too. “i think there is someone he likes…” is what el says to explain his behaviour, and as pointed out time and time again in hundreds of different ways, all of mike’s “weird” behaviour and change in character can be explained by his feelings for will.

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 11: End of Season 3 pt 2/3 . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Welcome back to this series after a one-day break because of my exam, and again I'm gonna talk about the end of season 3 aka one of the most damning pieces of evidence that it's basically a fucking paradigm of the byler fandom atp <3

So here we have it, the scene where Mike probably (definitely) realises something is wrong about his relationship with El. Up until this point in the season, we have seen that Mike is desperate to grow up, and he does this by trying to emulate his parents' by getting into a relationship with a women, thinking about it logically rather than emotionally, right?

I think that as an audience, when watching S3, we were kind of waiting for Mike to have his proper character development moment, because obviously, he was kind of a jerk all season with his attitude towards Will and El. I'm still surprised that the GA believed his character was put in a blender and shat out, because this season and this SCENE literally gives you that last minute realisation and character development.

But unfortunately, and here's the kicker: it really is just too late. El and Will are gone, so he can't really do anything about his realisation that things are wrong.

Just wanted to put some things in perspective first, so here we go!

1. The Bear

So first of all, we start the scene with El trying to reach for the teddy bear which, BY THE WAY, is in Will's closet in his room. It is also definitely his bear that can be seen in his room in season one.

Therefore, this bear is a representation of Will. He literally gets taken out of the closet by Mike here as well. It is important to know that this bear represents him throughout this scene, because we can then keep in mind that El is holding him the whole time all this subsequent stuff plays out. The bear is between Mike and El, basically a litttleee foreshadowing moment to the imagery in S4 where Will is seen between Mike and El multiple times.

(this is where i realise how long this post is going to be bc there's so much to unpack here help)

2. Growing Up Issues No. 1000000

AnyWAYS so Mike then says something that perpetuates the whole S3 narrative and arc they set up for him trying to reject 'childish' things and associating childish things with Will.

"I was thinking you could come up here for Christmas. And Will too! Then we'd all have cool new presents to play with. ...Sorry that made me sound like a 7 year old."

Right after he mentions Will and the fact that he's excited to see him and everyone, he immediately feels childish. And the fact that he's been feeling like he needs to grow out of his feelings towards Will this season means he's thinking about those feelings here, however unconsciously. But he's only trying to grow up in a way he thinks he has to, there's no indication to the audience that this growing up is a good thing. (it always ends in Mike feeling self-conscious or an argument with Will)

3. Saying I love you

El then tries to remind Mike about the time that he 'talked about [his] feelings' and his 'HEART' (oh my goawsh), and he instantly looks put on the spot and definitely remembers what he said to her, obviously, but doesn't want to repeat it. He says stuff like:

"I don't think I follow." - he doesn't really remember something like this without a blatant reminder because he doesn't want to.

"Oh yeah. That. Man, that was so long ago." - when he says that it's 'so long ago', it feels like he's trying to play down what he's saying, backpedaling so that he can come up with an excuse to why he doesn't actually want to say that anymore. His excuse here is that it was a long time ago, EVEN THOUGH IT WASNT REALLY HAHA.. This his way of saying he doesn't really feel like that without actually saying it, so not to hurt her feelings.

"No, it was like heat of the moment stuff, and we were arguing and..." - again, these are just more excuses so that he can explain himself. Hmm, maybe it's that they are technically broken up here still, so he might just feel self-conscious in case she doesn't love him back. But here's the thing - they would have made him look much happier when she says 'I love you too' if this was the case, right? And they would have made him able to say I love you in S4 if he was just self-conscious she didn't love him back right?

"I don't really remember... What did I say exactly?" - Oh he definitely remembers. So this has to be yet another case of Mike trying to get El to say I love you for him, so that he doesn't have to say it. He doesn't really want to lie to her like that, so saying the words himself would feel wrong. It would be much easier just to agree with her if she says it. I talk much more about how he has already done this in the supermarket in this post. Go have a little read <3

Now, when El starts to walk up to him and puts her hand on his face, he looks utterly weirded out. It's a very strange thing to be looking like when your girlfriend might love you back, which is what she thinks Mike wants. The kicker is that El is unfortunately being presented as naive in thinking that she's making him happy by saying 'I love you too'.

This is Mike's face right after his gf says I love you btw yeah really cute and romantic.

This same sentiment of irony can be seen later when we get a shot of her smiling when she walks away from him, before cutting to a shot of the opposite of what she expected: which is Mike looking confused. Again, Duffers love subversion.

I think a lot of people think that Mike looks confused in this little part here because he also acted confused when El asked him about his feelings. So people think that, what, he just found out that El knew he loved her? No. He wasn't actually confused about what he had said ages ago, he was pretending to be confused. He clearly already knew that she had heard him, anyone can surely see that he's just trying to get her to say it for him, right? Why would he be confused about something he already knows (that El knows he said I love her)? Why would he look so shocked instead of happy that she said it back?

4. The kiss + Closet Imagery

This is literally the most blatant ass queer coding that I've ever seen. If this was any other show, it would definitely be called queer coding because I mean it is literally a girl initiating a kiss that the guy does not respond to at all, WHILST BEING IN FRONT OF A FUCKING CLOSETTTT

I barely need to analyse anything here, as you can see, El just kisses him and he doesn't do anything with his hands, he has his eyes open, and it frankly is a bad kiss, sorry but-

There isn't much stake in the argument that he's just confused and shocked as well. IN STRANGER THINGS there have been surprise kisses before (see Jancy season 2) that the directors easily made have good chemistry because they are good directors... they don't do this stuff by accident.

How else do I know they are great directors? Because they put Mike directly in front of a closet while El isn't. The Duffers fucking love background symbolism, they love symmetry. They even had some of this symmetry earlier in the scene with Jancy!:

(the window symbolises their love being open with one another or the fact they can be free with each other etc)

Not only does this closet get positioned right behind Mike in the shot, there is also a LIGHT on that is positioned right where his head is. This portrays that he's thinking about something new, like he's just been given a new perspective on something. (Also why would there be a light in the closet unless it's to draw ur attention to it??)

So why would a kiss from El, that he's had numerous times, conjure up a new idea? Why would it be that he loves her, when he allegedly already knows that because he said it ages ago? It's not an idea about El, it's him discovering the truth.

I talk more about how light symbolises truth in one of my very early analysis posts on this app here, but basically, light often symbolises the truth in film, and the fact that a light is IN THE CLOSET AND POSITIONED WHERE HIS HEAD IS just shows that he's thinking of the truth, which is not what is right in front of him.

AND THE BEAR THAT SYMBOLISES WILL IS STILL IN BETWEEN THEM. OH MY GOD,,,, this scene is literally just- the byler endgame scene I fear holy moly

So as we all know, afterwards, Mike stands there as if he's just realised something.

Based on what I've already said, that Mike can't just be realising that El figured out that he said "I love her", that Mike can't just be processing that she loved him (because wouldn't he be happy and the writers could have written a cute moment), and the fact he has lightbulb moment, this is him realising that something is wrong with his relationship. He realises that he doesn't want this.

The closet is fucking clear as day here, like it just all comes together in this perfect way I love it.

Keep this in mind for when I talk about the Hopper monologue at the end, because he just realises here he doesn't want this relationship, and during the monologue part he regrets everything he's done over the course of season 3.

This whole season he's kind of confused and trying to figure out what is wrong with him and why he feels so hurt by everything, but here is when he realises why, which is why it is a good closer of his arc. It is also supposed to be ironic that it's completely last minute. Meaning it is too late to do anything about it, leaving a good space for S4 to come along.

[sophskullz]

Mike’s OPENING scene for season 4 having him being framed inside of a closet, the closet light is on, there’s a one way sign pointing to the closet, and in the frame before this we can see rainbow on the bottom of the letter is insane. They were basically screaming at us “HE’S GAY AND IN THE CLOSET”

[divinisable]

Can't believe there was a time when we fought for our LIVES to prove that there's a chance that Will might be gay and THEN we had the audacity to say that he might have feelings for his best friend and that's CANON now

[bylerist]

[lordystrange]

Mike Wheeler’s queercoding with pride flags/rainbow colors 🌈

Max’ sleeves

Argyle’s socks

Him pointing to El whatever rainbow coloured is in front of Jonathan

Rainbow apple

Again idk what those are but rainbow colours anyway

Rainbow colors on his pillow case

El’s letters/drawings

And ofc the season 4 outfits

Comment or reblog with more!

[mikewheelerlikesboys]

Honestly if byler isn’t endgame we still aren’t delusional, the duffers are, because there’s no way they wrote the best gay slowburn and added so much subtext and queercoding without even realizing it

[doriandrifting]

One Way Signs as Queercoding: Subaru’s Gay St. Ad| Mike Wheeler’s bedroom

[Image one shows street signs on a pole outside businesses. One sign says “Gay Street”. The other says “One Way”. Below it is an ad featuring a Subaru. To the left it says, “KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING.” Underneath the car is their classic slogan, “It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.”]

[Image two shows the opening scene of Season Four with Mike Wheeler in his bedroom. Hung above him on the wall is a “One Way” sign pointed directly into his open closet.]

[gayofthefae]

https://youtu.be/-hedzc5H7eQ?si=2chk-YA3uUUht7gv

Long but great analysis. Loved the points about the queer experience of possessiveness of same gender friend and now I'm totally thinking about how Will could have easily been queer without his relationship to Mike, narratively speaking, but Mike's behavior with Will is vital to Mike's. They're closer than the rest, but that didn't need to be true. And "closer" is a MUTUAL thing.

If their closeness queercoded Will, it queercodes Mike too.

It was Mike's decision to single himself out especially in season 2 with Will. The crazy together scene happened because he forbid anyone else from coming along and taking Will home. They aren't just closer. Mike makes a point of Will being his and seeking out alone time with him.

Will loves Mike deeply but he doesn't initiate things like this as much, as we know. They aren't just closer by default. That would be different. They're closer because time and time again Mike finds ACTIVE work arounds to ensure that he is with Will and even alone with Will.

If they were just close, they'd be besties who hang out every day etc. But that's not them, that's the party. With Mike and Will, Mike leaves the group to find Will instead (2x04), Mike bars others from following when he does spend time with Will (2x02), Mike prides himself on his closeness with Will (2x06, remembering him), and he makes it clear that he views Will differently than he views their other friends (2x08, 4x04).

They aren't special because the writers told us they are. And they aren't special because the gay guy with a crush on his best friend told us they are. They're special because Mike says they are.

The thing about this and Mike is, just like how they're "all best friends", it would be easier to have them all together all the time. Mike tells the entire group that he's gonna check on Will after school. They all look for Will.

It's not the Duffers. It's Mike. They all looked for Will, they all waited at the hospital, but Mike stayed up and ran fast enough to get to hug him first and alone. They all worried about Will's episode, but Mike made himself physically close and physically took him away from the others to go with him. They all missed Will, but Mike bought the plane ticket (and not just because of El, the other guys love El too).

The writers put them alone together, yes...well, sort of. Rather, the writers write Mike to take the initiative to get them alone together.

The difference is that Mike and Will are not in repeated forced proximity. They did not have to be alone together. Mike himself took action to ensure they would be.

[phoebebuggers]

Am I the only one who thinks Mike's voice in the airport was zesty sf

i laughed out loud in a public setting when i received this ask like no?? i have never thought this??

slay tho i guess

[kdkdnfuiahuag]

when el says in the beginning of szn four “i think there is someone he likes, because he has been acting… weird.” her words reflected mike’s character throughout the season, not will’s.

[bit-of-a-nerd]

What Mike’s Room Means About Byler

we’ve all talked and hear about mike’s rooms queercoding. people talk a lot about the posters, which have two things: fantasy and men. men is obvious queercoding when you look at other characters rooms. the lack of women is interesting when making the case that hes gay not bi. but theres something that people dont talk a lot about

mike and el have a very strong sci-fi coding. that makes sense, its a sci-fi show, and their biggest season together was the season based as an homage to classic 80’s sci-fi films. creators have made comparisons to et, her powers in s1 had a strong “alien” vibe from sci-fi, and imagery with things like star wars. 

however, byler has a strong fantasy coding. their first scene (both at all, but also their first one on one scene) had to do with dnd (fantasy game). this coding does go away for a bit in s2 when dnd takes a bit of a backseat (except for dustin coining the name of the mind flayer). but its back again in full force for s3. their major s3 fight (with TONS of queer mike coding and byler coding in general) was after the failed dnd game. will’s dnd game had some of the most pure fantasty vibes that we’ve seen of st dnd games.  the music he used, the costuming, the village all screamed medieval fantasy. 

not to mention dnd used to point towards mikes conformity. him leaving it in s3 is a sign of conformity, but him returning shows him starting to embrace himself. his costuming at rink o mania show’s thats not fully the case, pointing towards something else being the root of the conformity. then one of the (if not the) biggest byler scene, and the crux of what will be a major byler focused plot point, is will’s painting and the van scene. the painting? A FANTASY DND FIGHT! there’s a reason people love cleradin au’s and love the ship names cleradin and wiseheart. because dnd, and by extent fantasy, are woven into byler.

so keeping all that in mind, lets talk about rooms. rooms are usually a place for self expression. posters and things that express who you are and your interests. we've seen the duffers use rooms to express this in the past. but, they’ve also used rooms to show attraction. we dont see the second point much in mikes season 1 room, but we see the first. his room is a reflection of his nerdy interests and his friends mainly (also closet imagery!!!). but now that hes growing into a teenager it makes sense that we would begin to see the second part when we finally get his room again in s4. 

so: interests, we see his fantasy posters and his guitar. his fantasy posters line back up with his participation in hellfire. not TONS there, but some signals to him adopting eddies style due to some facsination/hero worship/crush(???) of the guy (an example being the guitar).

but attraction is where his room gets REALLY interesting. he has MULTIPLE posters of shirtless men. his one way sign to the closet. does more need to be said? it does. because attraction to men and being closeted, doesn’t mean much for being in relationships. (again bi people do exist!! he could be closeted and still in love with his gf)

In this scene he’s reading a letter from his girlfriend, in their ‘perfect’ relationship, their sci-fi coded relationship. so, even with the attraction to men coded, maybe the duffers didnt see the need to recode his female attraction, they just added coding of his relationship into his room, right? he might just not be the guy to have a shrine to his partner, he might just be more subtle?

except all the posters are more fantasy leaning. which is a different genre from scifi. his room does not point towards his relationship with el. but we fantasy is the coding behind his and will’s relationship. the same relationship that in their time apart he’s somehow managed to start acting weirder around his best friend, and feel the need to assert that they. are. just. friends. the same friend who just got confirmed in love with mike, and is now a love interest. 

I know theres been a lot of talk about mikes room but people haven’t really talked about the fantasy aspect, or bylers fantasy coding and mlvns sci-fi coding. I think it’s a lot more important than people are giving it credit for. 

[wheelercurse]

Mike Wheeler + Closets

or a brief guide to Mike's queercoding.

Using a closet is the most basic and overused way to queercode a character. This is one of the classic symbolism. Of course, not every time a character is framed next to a closet means that they're queer-coded, it depends on the context, but Mike has this motif when the scene is related to his relationship with El or Will.

The closet is used as a metaphor to represent an LGBT person hiding or repressing his true identity because they conform to society's expectations. Mike's arc has been about accepting his true self and stopping conforming.

Here are some examples of when they used the closet motif to queercode Mike (and Will too):

1.

This is the loudest one of them. El told him she loved him too, and Mike couldn't say it or kiss her back. And that scene happens when Mike is perfectly framed in an open closet. They're telling you what's the reason he couldn't say it.

In the last shot, he's literally left confused, and the closet illustrates his inner conflict: the tension between embracing his true self or conforming.

This scene is after his heartfelt moment with Will, which works as the resolution to their conflict in this season. They promised to keep playing d&d.

During the rain fight, Mike revealed his mindset. He believed that growing up meant stopping playing games and starting dating girls. He clearly was conforming.

2.

The first shot of Mike this season is him reading El's letter while next to an open closet. And then they gave us a shot with a big "one way" sign pointing at his closet. The same way they introduced Will painting his gift to present his subplot this season. Mike's first scene showed his inner conflict this season: embracing his true self or keep conforming.

Then we saw him putting on his Hellfire Club shirt. It seems like he was accepting himself and embracing who he is. That he keeps wanting to play d&d.

But then, he arrives in California dressed as how he thought Californians wear and start acting weird with Will, and he can't even write "love" to El.

3. In the closet (at Rink O' Mania)

I can't believe they got away with this one. The track that plays during their fight at Rink O Mania is called that, and it starts playing when Mike is in the frame.

Yes, it's also called that because El was in the employees-only room hiding, and it's like a closet. But again, who was the one perfectly framed in front of it while arguing with Will that they were only friends? Mike.

Of course, the song is also to queercode Will, who is also in the closet, because this season, his whole arc is about hiding his true feelings for a boy.

Fun fact: This melody is a variant of another called Tribulations, which means troubles and events that cause suffering. It's like they're suffering because they're in the closet.

4. Will's room.

The closet is present when Mike apologizes for his fight at Rink O Mania. You can see Mike sitting in front of the open closet. Again, it’s a symbol for both of them. Mike is opening up more about his feelings, but they still hide their true romantic feelings.

At the end of this scene, Will takes his painting. They’re a step closer to being honest with each other. I talk more about the painting subplot here if you’re interested in reading it.

5.

What if I told you Mike’s queercoding has been there since season one?

This scene alone doesn't give us queercoded vibes because, yes, Mike was hiding El from his mom to protect her. But then... we have this conversation with Karen and Mike.

Karen brought up Will in the conversation and said she didn't want Mike to feel like he had to hide something from her. And Mike was hiding a girl (his future girlfriend) in his closet. It's self-explanatory.

And it's more incriminating that Jonathan and Will's scene, when he's clearly talking about Will's sexuality, it's worded similarly.

Both invited them to talk and assured them they would always be there.

Conclusion: Mike is also queercoded, and saying he's written as straight, it's just plain wrong.