The "Hinted" Gay

Something I've been dying to talk about on here is the increasing popularity of the "Retrospective Gay" trope and the "Ambiguous Gay/Bi" trope.

To explain, the "Retrospective Gay" trope is when an author or show/movie writer says that a character in their story is gay, although it's never mentioned or even shown in the fiction. The most notorious example of this is Dumbledore, from J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series.

credit to https://movieweb.com/ian-mckellen-fantastic-beasts-2-dumbledore-gay/

JKR said in an interview that Dumbledore was gay, despite there being zero suggestion to this in the actual books or films. And by that, I don't mean stereotypical gay signs - Dumbledore not being flamboyant or feminine wasn't why fans were upset. They were upset because not bothering to write an actual gay character in your book who has relationships or never even mentions his identity is just a lazy attempt at scoring brownie points with LGBT fans. It's obvious why she did this - she wanted to make LGBT fans happy with scraps while still keeping her homophobic fans content, as they would never have to actually read that an important character is gay in the book. 

Dishonorable mentions of other "Retroactive Gays" are: Lando from Solo: A Star Wars Story, Valkyrie from Thor: Ragnorok, and Newt from Pacific Rim. 

The "Ambiguous Gay/Bi" trope includes any character in a TV show/movie/book etc. who comes off as gay, in whatever way that might be, but never actually comes out. Think of Ryan, from High School Musical. 

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I mean, for real, this entire scene was a metaphor for batting for the other team. 

They were literally playing baseball. 

This trope has the potential to turn into an actual LGBT character at any time, but that, in itself, lies the problem. There is always the hope that the character will eventually come out, or be confirmed as their suggestive sexuality, but the writers never go through with it.

Other examples of this include Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place,

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Schneider from One Day at a Time,

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And Jake Peralta from Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

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Both tropes are bad in the fact that they exploit how rarely represented LGBT people are for their own monetary benefit, but the latter of the two still always has the potential to turn around and make these suggested characters actually LGBT, which leaves some hope.

However, let's strive for more than just scraps.

Good-bi my pals,

Nelly 

Dear Gay People

Dear White People is a comedy-drama that focuses on issues surrounding modern race relations through the eyes of black college students. While I can go on for days about how amazing the show is at depicting the reality behind today's "post-racial" society, I'd rather tell you to watch it yourself, because it's really an experience you're going to want first-hand. But with that being said, I wanna talk about one of my favorite characters in the show, Lionel.

credit to Dear White People Netflix 

Lionel's arc begins in Chapter II, where we see him navigating his life as a socially awkward outcast. We see him enter a barbershop with only white barbers, who look at his afro with surprise and confusion. We then see him enter a black barbershop, where he tries to fit in, but gets rejected because of his scrawny, nerdy appearance. This really highlights Lionel's arc, as told by Lionel himself, in his article on the cover page of the school's newspaper - "while endless depictions of white men in particular exist, there aren't that many versions of us in the culture. Culture has a powerful way of telling people what they can and can't be. For people of color, the options are rather limited." This is further contextualized with the information that Lionel is attracted to men, and I don't say gay, because:

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When Lionel goes to a party on Pride Night, he's introduced to the "literary gays." His straight roommate, Troy, says: "So these are your people, huh?" to which Lionel responds: "They're gay, they're writers.. Maybe." Despite it being a party full of gay people, Lionel has difficulty feeling apart of any group. 

The intersection of Lionel's sexuality and race becomes more apparent when he's actively denied by other gay people because they're "not into black guys" or "only date white guys". This is justified as "having a type" although it's obvious racism. 

When they go to another party, Lionel tries out another group - the woke gays. While he enjoys their company, Lionel isn't into pop music or any of the in things they are, so he just feels awkward. 

credit to https://dearyoufromwe.blogspot.com/2018/05/on-dear-white-people-season-2.html

When he goes to the last party, however, he finds someone like him, also sitting alone at a table. They bond over the fact that they've both been racially objectified, and when Lionel leaves, he's reached on social media by the guy from before.

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They continue talking, and Lionel likes him a lot. They share a lot of interests! They're both nerdy, and awkward, and they don't adhere to one sort of "group." They start dating, and Lionel's confidence grows. We see Lionel grow into his own, not as a literary gay, or a woke gay, not even a nerdy gay, because the whole point of his arc is that these labels can be more constricting than comforting. Lionel doesn't put himself into a box, and it makes it easier for him to become closer with others.

Sometimes, as cliche as it is, you just need to be yourself.

Good-bi for now,

Nelly 

A Modern Precinct

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a police procedural TV sitcom that follows the detectives of the 99th precinct. It is also another favorite TV show of mine, because let's face it, if it's got LGBT characters and it's legitimately funny/well written, then I probably love it. And B99 fits that criteria.

When I first started watching it, I didn't know there was going to be any LGBT rep. Then a character  named Raymond Holt became the new captain of the precinct.

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He came out to the members of his precinct and is a proud, gay black man in a position of power in the NYPD. He describes his experience of being an out black cop in the 60's. 

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Captain Holt is an important character to the show and his sexuality and race has influenced his life, but what makes B99 so great is that Captain Holt is allowed to exist as a figure of authority and respect and express his sexuality openly. We have entire episodes with Holt's husband, Kevin. 

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Speaking of LGBT characters in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, let's talk about Bi-con Rosa Diaz! 

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Rosa is another detective in the NYPD, who comes out to Charles Boyle (you guessed it, ANOTHER detective.) after he finds her talking on the phone to her girlfriend. She proceeds to come out to the entire precinct, who greet her with love and support. However, when she comes out to her parents, they react coldly, to the point of denying her sexuality.

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Rosa is incredibly hurt by their rejection and runs off. Jake (yup, another detective) comforts her and accompanies her on Family Game Night, where she tries to explain that her identity is real and undeniable to her parents. 

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A day later, her father goes to the precinct to talk to her, and explains that while her mother may

 take a longer time to accept this reality, he stands beside her.

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It was an incredibly emotional experience for me to see these episodes, as a bisexual person. I related to Rosa, who both hated her parents for not accepting her and wanted to ignore them for the rest of her life, while also seeking their love and support. It's difficult, being an LGBT person with parents who don't support them. To realize that their love ISN'T unconditional is very upsetting, and you see Rosa's emotional struggle throughout the episodes. At the end of the episode, Rosa opens her door to see everyone from the precinct there, holding board games, pizza and snacks. Captain Holt comforts her, and delivers one of the strongest quotes in the show.

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What Holt says is so important, and ties the entire episode together. It encourages LGBT people to be themselves, to be proud and strong, and shows a reality for many LGBT people. It's not guaranteed that your family will accept you or love you as your truest self, but you can choose your family. Many LGBT people create families within each other, with their closest friends, who love each other. And that's exactly what the 99th precinct is - a family. 

Good-bi for now,

Nelly