#they made it very clear to western audiences that they were hinting at queer characters

[deathsmallcaps]

I AM SUCH A BIG FAN. I just rewatched the last fight scene between Raya and Namaari and god, the emotion. And Raya’s whip sword will never not be cool.

And if you’re looking for some more video essays, please watch these. (I’m not trying to diss the movie I just think these added to my understanding of the film check the tags)

Cultural Critique Part 1 (they call it a roast and some of it is talking about the stickier wording and choices that the creators made that could be construed as purity culture bull, but it’s quite nuanced and the people making the video were amazing and worked hard to be fair minded in their commentary)

Cultural Critique Part 2

Queer Subtext (again they used buzzwords like Queerbaiting in the title but go on to make a nuanced essay)(tho I do think it’s fair to say it was definitely a queerbait movie)

Watching Raya and the Last Dragon, why didn't any of you tell me it fucks severely

[bi-dazai]

15 yr olds on this site really go around totally unsuspicious of fictional media discussing gayness or including gay characters huh

idk about you but i was born in 2000 and my entire life i dealt with blatantly homophobic media (power puff girls is one example!) and intense queerbaiting coupled with homophobic plotlines (supernatural, the 100). i had to ferret around the internet desperately to find a shitty copy of a somewhat decent film involving gayness that wasnt something like philadelphia or debs or rocky horror. when i was struggling the most with coming to terms with my bisexuality was around the period of 2010-2015. during that time antibisexual sentiment was incredibly high (this was when the post-myspace backlash of bisexuality and the rise of mogai and pansexuality came about). every time a tv character was announced to be gay (extremely rarely) they were killed off or forced into homophobic plotlines and stereotypes within episodes. they were the butt of jokes, fandom and the world made fun of them to hell. our expectations for gay representation were extremely low, to the point that we were happy with the kill your gays trope because at least we got screentime. 

korrasami was the breaking point of all this. since then, the media has been much more inclusive and receptive to actual gay criticism and queer theory (as flawed as it is). a children’s show with a massive fanbase made their two female protagonists of colour bisexual and in a romantic relationship. this was huge. this is the best gay representation to date in children’s media. the backlash was still huge, and even more chose to ignore it and pretend it wasnt canon, despite the creators and writers specifying in interviews almost immediately that it was, and that nickelodeon had in fact forced them to cut a kiss scene.

but nothing has really changed. even if there is slightly more gay representation, even though our criticisms are now part of the public conscience, what has changed in western media really? gay representation is white and middle class and vague. it’s liberal, it never depicts any form of the community that is so important to gay film as an establishment, never depicts proper homophobia. it is safe and consumable for homophobes. it’s straight gayness. films such as love, simon and call me by my name depict sanitised, and even homophobic depictions of gayness. it’s hollywood gayness.

queerbaiting still exists - for example, the voltron reboot frequently hinted at lance’s bisexuality and keith’s gayness, constantly foreshadowing a romantic relationship (and yes, there is proof for this. analysing the show and looking at interviews from the time, as well as looking at the complaints about the showrunners from the writing staff in particular who specified that they did not allow the writers to plan a plot and anything that had the potential of upsetting their ratings and upstanding with dreamworks higher-ups were quickly cut - this makes it clear that something was going on there), constantly talking about it with fans, only to have this foreshadowing, the various promises to the community, fall away. shiro was revealed to be gay, a teaser trailer showed him with his boyfriend. in the actual series, the boyfriend got less than a minute of screentime and was killed immediately. shiro, an asian gay man, was made into torture porn. this is queerbaiting and a homophobic trope as well. 

ive seen this with innumerous shows as well. gay characters are introduced as a grab for a larger audience and free advertising via people discussing the show on the internet. 

so yes. on the surface, it seems that things have changed. younger people are being told that gay media is the norm, that we are living in good times, and they are being taught queer theory criticism of media via a hollywood and social media lens.

but beneath? nothing has changed. i still get twinges of fear when hollywood and netflix try to appeal to gay audiences. i still dont trust the representation they provide. i am still ferreting about the internet to find a copy of an independent film. i am still watching the same four gay films. 

it sounds strange when i say that i hate gay representation. but this is what i am referring to - hollywood representation, netflix representation. 

i have seen a strange gap in ages and response to gay representation in hollywood and netflix productions. young people who were born after about 2003/04 are the current main targets of most hollywood gay representation. korrasami became canon when they were just 10 years old. this cultural shift happened before they were old enough to truly realise what was happening. and with no one discussing just how big that cultural shift was and has been, there is no consideration for their own past that can take place within their own thoughts. it is normal for a tv show to have a gay character and so long as that character isnt killed off they’re happy. ive seen this sad trend of young teenagers consuming characters and representations of sexuality like this with total happiness. even some of the smartest, most media-critical kids ive ever met still engaged with love,simon with complete and utter praise. 

but to those born before, we grew up with something different. shows like the powerpuff girls had transphobic depictions. gayness was reserved for adult, latenight shows like the l-word. homophobic and transphobic punchlines were the norm. lesbian was ugly or a porn category. bisexual was unheard of - our flag was only designed in the very late 1990s. or we were whores. for a moment in the mid-2000s we were celebrated in teenage underground movements such as scene, punk, emo, etc. but by the early 2010s we were being named as affronts to the lgbt community (once again). transgenderness was completely reviled (still is). we were queerbaited and slandered and hated by hollywood

ten years later we are said to be “welcomed” in media. but i feel no difference. i am still suspicious and bitter and disappointed and disgusted. i dont feel welcomed nor celebrated. i still feel disgusted with myself and i still feel hollow and hated - because i am. we are. hollywood is not your friend. it never has been. representation is a cash grab.

[spiftynifty]

LGBT representation in Voltron

UPDATED: I realized I wasn’t coming off as neutrally as I’d like and there were hints of shipping peeking through. I also didn’t feel I had expanded properly on certain aspects. I’d like this particular post to be as neutral as  possible so that it’s accessible to people from all ships and headcanons.

I’ve seen a lot of discussion lately about LGBT representation in Voltron. From shipping wars to insistent demands that headcanons be fulfilled, it’s all getting a little bonkers. I wanted to step back, encourage everyone to take a breather, and discuss the potential of any LGBT on the show, including and excluding popular expectations. So here we go, a post on LGBT representation in Voltron and in cartoons, and why it's not as simple as we'd like it to be. It’s a little long but don’t worry, there are pictures! AND A COMIC!

DISCLAIMER: I do not work on Voltron, nor do I work for Dreamworks or any of its properties. I'm just an animator who's worked on dozens of cartoons for a number of studios and the following is based on my experience in this industry. This post is NOT meant to indict any of the parties involved in the creation of Voltron or other cartoons. Making cartoons is a complicated, collaborative process and no one is a villain.

Here we go:

Before we can talk about LGBT rep & Voltron, we should probably talk about LGBT representation in cartoons in general. In case it isn't clear, I'm speaking specifically about Western cartoons that primarily air in Canada/US. Anime is a whole other category and one that Voltron does not fall under. I'm also removing cartoons that were made explicitly for adults.

LGBT in cartoons is a really recent development. If we include adult cartoons it can date back as far as 20 years (South Park showcasing some SUPER GREAT gay stereotypes :|) but if we're including cartoons geared towards kids (age 5-17)... we're talking this being a thing in the last FOUR years. And the number of times it's been done is so minimal, it can be summed up in these few images:

(left to right, top to bottom) 6Teen, 2010 CANADA ONLY - An incidental female character revealed she liked women. I don’t think this show ever aired in the States but it ran on Teletoon for years. The show also had an episode with an incidental gay character in 2008. Gravity Falls, 2013 - The sheriff and deputy are repeatedly hinted at being in a relationship. I believe in the series finale their relationship is more clearly identified. It was later confirmed by the show’s creator.

Legend of Korra, 2014 - The two female leads, after having previously dated the same male character, are strongly implied to now be dating each other as they hold hands and walk into the Spirit World together. This was as explicit as they were allowed to get with their relationship. The comics continue their relationship romantically and also highlight other characters from both series who are (or were) LGBT). Steven Universe, 2013 - The show doesn’t shy away from its LGBT romances, in particular Ruby and Sapphire and Pearl and Rose.  Star vs The Forces of Evil, 2017 - in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it panning shot, two background male characters are seen kissing.  Clarence, 2013 - The main character has two moms. In one episode, a handsome male background character is shown greeting another man for a date by kissing him on the cheek. Initially they were supposed to peck on the lips until other countries’ censors demanded the change. Loud House, 2016 - The main character’s best friend, Clyde, has two dads. 

I’m also going to toss out an Honourable Mention to Adventure Time for Princess Bubblegum & Marceline, whose past romantic relationship was sort of hinted at in the show but only confirmed outside of it. 

If we take that list and cut it down to just (broadcast TV) primary or recurring characters, we're left with this: Korra, Steven Universe, Clarence

I should also mention that while I repeatedly use the term LGBT, what I’m really referring to is more LGB. I would love to see a trans character in a broadcast cartoon. I’ve heard Amazon’s Danger & Eggs has a trans character, which is AMAZING and a solid start. However progressively speaking, broadcast cartoons tend to lag a little behind live action TV and movies aimed at older teens and adults, and those genres are still struggling to feature trans characters. 

So why is this?

Firstly, and more importantly, a lot of these shows air in countries that aren't nearly as open about LGBT as USA/Canada are. To say "screw those guys! They should keep up with the times!!" is to cut out a major consumer base and most companies are unwilling or unable to take that financial hit. This doesn't make them evil. Animation, just like filmmaking, may be an artform but it is first and foremost a BUSINESS. Major companies like Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network won’t lose money, but the production studios they hire to do their shows will suffer the brunt of it and could lose the business of these powerful corporations. It’s happened time and time again that a show initially animated in the US or Canada has been taken away from that studio in favor of a cheaper, overseas option. In some cases they’ve closed. 

Second, even in 2018 there is still a lot of pushback from homophobic or “family-oriented” groups with decent clout and numbers. Also, there is a strange pervasive idea that LGBT is something that is Not For Children, likely because too many foolish people still associate heteronormativity with love and everything outside of that with sex. 

Additionally, you may have noticed that on the list of the three shows showcasing LGBT relationships in a primary or recurring character way... ALL of them feature women. The social discussion about why that is honestly merits an entire other post (or 5) so to put it plainly, broadly speaking, people tend to be more comfortable with female queerness over male queerness. We have yet to see a m/m relationship that has any iota of history or character development behind it, or a recurring queer male character.

With this in mind, Voltron, which features a primarily male cast, and thus has more chances of featuring a male LGBT character, has its work cut out for it.

___________________________________________________

Fresh off the heels of Korra, a series that in the 11th hour featured the two female leads ending up with each other, it's no surprise that showrunners Lauren Montgomery and Joaquin Dos Santos( along with other cast and crew) have fielded a barrage of questions about their intention to depict LGBT on the show. At NYCC when asked about it, this was JDS & LM's response: "It's very important to us... we’re fighting to create as open and as broad a spectrum of characters as we can."

Which is a pretty interesting way of putting it, and a pretty understandably CAREFUL way of putting it. Again, I want to reiterate, I don’t work for any studio involved in the production of Voltron so this is largely conjecture.

So here's how the hierarchy works, as far as I can tell. 

I'm not sure who approached who to get a new Voltron made, but primary creative decisions would fall to JDS and LM, who are in charge of things like major plot points, characters, and arcs. When they've figured this stuff out, they pitch it in a multitude of sessions with Dreamworks People... and that's when the battle begins. Pitching a show is always a tug-of-war. Let's be clear: No creator has ever gone in with a show and walked away with every single aspect that they wanted. Compromises and concessions are made because while the Creatives are focused on their story and character, their client is concerning themselves with budget, timelines, audience targets and $$marketing$$. Before they even got to the matter of LGBT, JDS/LM had lost and won battles over some plot and character decisions. You can actually feel it sometimes when you watch the show; key emotional moments that never happen, or character stuff that gets shaved in favor of action or the reuse animation of the lions forming Voltron. 

This show is still aimed at a young, male, market Dreamworks wants to believe is going to buy their incredibly limited line of related toys, and that is a market that is difficult for executives to see as being interested in romance, let alone a queer one.

The point is, as much as JDS/LM seem to want LGBT in their show, it is a negotiation that I'm sure has been on the table since Day 1 and probably one that is ongoing. Here's a vague idea of what MAY have gone down:

Dreamworks: We will consider the idea of two of them in a relationship, but the third has got to go. JDS/LM: .....we appreciate you considering the relationship aspect. Dreamworks: In addition, we feel that to balance the scales so to speak, at least one character needs to be overtly heterosexual. You know, hit on a lot of female characters, maybe even fall for one of them.

(sorry would have finished the comic but I sprained my wrist and I’m not supposed to draw rn but I cheated a little, also can you tell I love Saga)

This is very probably not what happened, but it is an example of what could have. I know there is a lot of support for a certain character in Voltron being bi, not least of all because of something LM drew. 

I think the placement of the characters holding the signs were less about associating the character with the header and more about making sure neither of the two warring ships were represented; it would have incited a new level on the shipping wars and the message and intent behind this art would have been lost.

There is a weird association with relationships and how they define a show if they aren’t hetero. Have only one relationship on a show about space battles and if it’s LGBT, people will start associating Voltron with being “the gay space battle show”. I don’t want to get into Discourse about This Thing because debate gets lost quickly in favor of toxic insults, but I think it’s important to touch on Bi!Lance. To be entirely neutral about it, it is possible that Lance was originally intended to be bi. But if there was the potential for other characters to be LGBT, the showrunners might have been asked to “strike a balance” so to speak, so that Voltron wouldn’t just be “the gay space battle” show since its hetero relationships would outnumber the queer ones. I don’t think Lance’s character has changed at all since his inception; the show needs a funnyman for levity and ridiculousness, and he is absolutely the charmer of the Paladins. He may have been intended to hit on just about any attractive being in his orbit (there are shades of what one might call a “man-crush” in regards to his Shiro hero-worship). While it would have been awesome to have a bi male character in a cartoon, changing his attraction dial from “all” to “female” doesn’t really affect his storyline, especially since it’s hard to contest that the show has been angling in potential for endgame Allurance in seasons 3&4. I realize that sounds dismissive of the bi experience, that’s really not what I’m trying to get at. I’m saying that in the grand scheme of things, it may have been easier to sacrifice an LGBT Lance in order to win another LGBT representation battle. Like I said, making cartoons that maintain the creative, storyline, and character goals you walk in with is a tug-of-war, and you’re going to lose something along the way. 

But it’s not all about Lance, and again, that’s all theoretical. It’s also possible that Pidge was at one point NB or even trans. There are hints of Coran having a close friendship with Alfor. The original blue paladin is hinted at flirting with a fellow male character in a “did he just--” moment that most people missed. Lotor surrounds himself with female generals but never seems particularly attracted to them. Keith’s undying devotion to Shiro could be interpreted as romantic. There are a dozen main characters whose orientations are nebulous at best and thus have potential to be queer. 

So what does this mean for the future of LGBT on Voltron?

The short version is: I'm actually, really, really hopeful. For a number of reasons.

1) JDS/LM as they've said, are fighting really hard for this to be a thing. Jeremy Shada has said "You'll be really happy" when asked about LGBT on the show. People may feel he’s referring to his character Lance, but I think he’s just hoping that people will be happy with any character who could be explicitly stated to be LGBT. 

2) Netflix isn't a TV broadcaster, which means they can operate under somewhat different rules. Sort of. They certainly don't shy away from LGBT content but they may be regulated under rules of "what is appropriate for children in certain age groups" which frustratingly, for kids 12 and under, does not often include LGBT content. Netflix notoriously doesn't release their viewership data so this is just speculation; but I wonder if the biggest audience taking in this show is actually people, primarily women, aged 14+. Taking this into account won't influence the plot, but the bumped up age could show an increased likelihood of LGBT rep as it pushes the show outside of the "content too sensitive for young children" zone.

3) It would be really nice to see explicit, unambiguous affection between two same-sex characters. However there can still be canonical queer romance without it, shades enough of “just friendship” that they can get past the censors and bigots while those who are more aware of what’s going on can recognize the relationship for what it is. Remember, some people still refuse to believe that Victor and Yuuri kissed in Yuuri on Ice, all thanks to the clever placement of an arm. Furthermore, LGBT doesn’t have to be portrayed through relationships but just the character itself. A character could make a passing comment that alludes to their sexuality. It’s not quite as satisfying as having it out in the open, but DW’s hands may be tied by the stipulations of the contract outlined by Netflix.

4) Despite what certain world events would have you believe, people are becoming more progressive and supportive of LGBT rights and content. We've seen it happen in movies and live-action television. More and more cartoons are going to be including LGBT content, in broader and more overt ways. There will be other cartoons who feature main characters who identify as LGBT, recurring characters in LGBT relationships who are allowed to be affectionate and cutesy with their partners, who are represented no differently or reverently than hetero cartoon romances. Voltron will likely end within the next two years, and within those next two years more and more cartoons will be taking "risks" and more and more broadcasters will feel emboldened to allow them to do so. If Dreamworks keeps its content steadfastly heterosexual while fellow producers embrace LGBT, it's going to reflect badly on them. 

People are desperate for representation in this show and it’s not hard to see why. It is not only one of the few serial cartoons out there, but one that deals with surprisingly adult themes considering it’s aimed at elementary schoolers. I think it’s really neat that people have so many headcanons about the LGBT rep in this show, and I think it’s great that it’s an element that has sparked a lot of passion in people. However, everything is still conjecture, the series is but half over, and putting all your LGBT demands onto one character or one relationship is unhealthy. It’s also pretty insidious to attack or harass crew, cast, or fellow fans whose views on how the LGBT should happen don’t align with your own. The show’s arcs and plot points have been written, the characters decided, but the internal fight over LGBT rep could still be going on. The creators aren’t going to cave to pressure from people who really want their ship or their character to be the sacred cow. Ship what you want to ship but recognize that while LGBT on the show may not happen the way you’d like it to, it’s still important to support its existence no matter what form it comes in. 

In the next part I’m going to cover one relationship in particular as neutrally as possible and whether or not it has potential to become canonically romantic.

[afishtrap]

So this sketch (from Voltron co-executive producer, Lauren Montgomery) has been going around. The theory is that each sign corresponds to a season: Pidge, in the first season, dealt with gender; Keith’s story raised issues of race; either Lance or Shiro will then (it’s assumed) deal with sexuality. Given that it’s Lance who’s looking kind of iffy (similar expression to Pidge and Keith, notably), it seems some quarters of the fandom are not just saying Lance will have some sexuality-related storyline, but that he’ll come out as bisexual.

First thing I have to say: there are a lot of things this Voltron reboot does get right. It has enough nods to the original series (which I saw in badly-dubbed reruns as a kid), but with just enough twists to make what’s really a kind of dorky super-mecha story into something with real heart. Pidge being a girl, but not being required to girl-ify herself post-reveal; Allura being strong, even harsh, instead of delicate space-princess. Hunk isn’t the butt of jokes, though Lance is still mostly comic relief... which I’ll get to, shortly.

But the reboot isn’t perfect. One bit that had people cheering had my teeth on edge: Pidge, at the alien space mall, looking at the two signs. One pink, one blue, neither representing human shape. I could’ve forgiven this if she’d been with one of the other Paladins, and they’d both been baffled. It no longer would’ve been “Pidge, because she doesn’t do performative femininity, must be puzzled as to which bathroom to use”. Instead it would’ve been, “when one’s familiar gender clues are removed, suddenly it becomes almost ridiculous to assign someone to a specific category” or some such.

Really, it felt like a failure of imagination: why not three bathrooms? Or even four? Why must aliens also divide themselves into two genders, and color-coded, at that? If the point was, “how do I know which bathroom to use when I don’t fit into neat gender categories,” how much more wonderful this question would’ve been when the animation made clear that the human/western assumption of ‘two genders’ is not everyone’s default.

The other issue is Lance. He’s supposed to be Latino (Cuban, iirc), and... he flirts, or tries to flirt, with anything that appears feminine, alien or human. (Except, notably, Pidge.) Oh come on, writers. You got so much else right, did you run out of enthusiasm for doing more? Is there some reason you couldn’t be arsed to do more, and fell back on the Latin lover stereotype?

But of course, there’s more. What, you think I was done already?

I do appreciate that the Voltron writers are proving themselves very good at laying groundwork. Given Pidge’s reveal was about mid-season, I thought they handled the revelation really well, especially with the lack of drama (or radical change on Pidge’s part) afterwards. The hints about Keith are subtle, but on rewatch I realized how many I’d missed. It wasn’t blatant; it was just enough that for those in the fandom paying really close attention, their antennae were probably up for some kind of reveal.

Which means if the hint in this image is to be taken seriously, and given Lance’s expression matching that of Pidge and Keith, welp. I guess there’s going to be some reveal of his sexuality -- but given the treatment for the other two, there should be hints in the earlier seasons.

Okay, I went looking. Even on rewatch and attuned for it, I still miss these rumored instances of Lance flirting with Keith like he does Allura. I’m left with what Lance does, and two images jumped out at me.

Remember Avatar: Last Airbender? Especially Sokka, meat-loving, sarcastic comic relief who believed in the healing power of shopping therapy. Normally that combination would’ve made him the sassy gay older brother, yet the narrative never goes that route. He falls in love with a girl, loses her, learns to love again, and never loses his quirky shopping habit. The narrative not only treats this as Just What Sokka Does, it never ridicules him for it. And he remains clearly heterosexual in his pursuits, if a bit goofy and clearly fifteen. My point is that it’s entirely possible to give a character non-masculine traits and not make it an issue of sexuality. Just saying.

So, one possibility: Lance will shift from Latin Lover to the gay guy who chases skirts in a desperate attempt to convince everyone (including himself) that he’s straight. It’s a horribly overdone trope, and it has a dark undercurrent of the lgbt person as deceitful. The person ‘plays’ at being straight, lies to others (and possibly themselves), and the reveal of their sexuality thus becomes a revelation of a scaffolding of lies. Keith may’ve gotten a pass due to his ignorance of his heritage, but the same can’t be said of Lance, unless we’re to believe he’s been unwittingly ignorant of himself this entire time (and that gets us into the gay-for-you trope and omfg please let’s not go there).

We’ve got several other options: ace, bi, trans. I doubt trans, since narratively this is too close to Pidge, and I doubt ace since flirting-as-cover doesn’t make any sense. (None of the rest of the guys feel it necessary to flirt outrageously, so not sure why Lance would feel pressured to do so; I’d expect an ace character to be relieved to be among at least two guys who seem entirely uninterested in anything sexual.) Given the narrative risks in turning all of Lance’s flirtation into deception, this is probably why a segment of the fandom thinks Lance’s reveal will be of bisexuality.

The problem is when you put together the assumptions that a) Lance will get a reveal as part of his character development, b) this reveal is related to his sexuality, and c) the demonstration of non-masculine behaviors is where the writers are laying the groundwork. Contrast Keith, who sleeps in old tanktop and doesn’t seem to notice nor care about his appearance, with Lance: proper pajamas, face mask, Pidge’s headphones, and some kind of a facial treatment mask. Add the towel around his head and the bathrobe, and, well. Lots of stereotypical ‘metrosexual’ clues, there.

So here’s the reason this makes me worry.

When heterosexuality is the assumed default, most writers seem to think indicating a non-het preference requires a sexual situation. Even one as otherwise innocent as, ‘hey, want to get coffee sometime?’ ‘Thanks, but I’m into guys.’ If there’s no way to work in that kind of interaction, the fallback is stereotypical signals. Women with short hair, who work construction. Men who lisp, or sway their hips. There are many kinds of signals used in Western media and by god I loathe all of them. But anyway.

Here’s the problem, and I’ve seen this elsewhere, which is why I’m on guard. To indicate bisexuality, the character is treated like a simple combination of two opposing things: gay and straight. It’s like Jekyll and Hyde: at night, Lance turns into Metrosexually-Gay Lance, but in daylight, he’s Flirtatious-Straight Lance. Please, no. 

There’s another way I’ve seen bisexuality represented, and I hate this even more, because this is the shit that non-bi audience members carry into their everyday lives, and causes a lot of heartache for the bi community. And that’s to have Lance explicitly flirt with Keith, and when it’s noted, to defend himself by saying he flirts because he likes both men and women.

See, in a heterosexual character, we’d dismiss flirtation with the opposite sex as just a sign someone’s on the make. In a bisexual character, the layers of stereotypes twist this into, “this person isn’t capable of being attracted to only one person at a time,” which in turn becomes a charge that bisexuals aren’t capable of monogamy, or fidelity. Setting Lance up as an incorrigible flirt could play all too easily into that most pernicious of stereotypes: the bisexual who’s just biding their time to dump one lover for another. Or doesn’t even dump, just cheats, because ‘having potential attraction to multiple genders’ is apparently the same as ‘unable to be faithful to one person at a time’, in the minds of non-bi people.

This is why I’m really hoping it’s a feint, and in fact it’ll be one of the other characters who’s queer in some way. I’d actually like best if it were Shiro, simply because he’s been so stoically steadfast, and presents as extremely masculine. He’s so non-flirtatious that if he were bi, there’d be no room for that infidelity stereotype to gain ground; if he were gay, his masculinity would reinforce that one need not be a butch or femme stereotype to be attracted to the same gender. Or maybe the picture’s a total feint and we’ll find out Matt is gay, but I suppose that depends on whether Pidge manages to track him down anytime in the next four seasons.

I just don’t want to have a well-written series turn sour on me, simply because the writers wanted to represent without any understanding of the lived experience. Bisexuality does not mean someone is part-gay, part-straight. It’s an orientation in its own right, and we are long overdue for seeing that represented, and respected, in our media.