#fuck you marvel he’s gay and gender-fluid

[kamurawaffles5684]

shit may be crazy but this bitch would totally listen to Machine Girl and early 2000s white girl music istg bro

LIKE JUST LOOK AT THIS BITCH AND TELL ME HE WOULDNT BE INTO WHITE GIRL MUSIC N SHIT— LIKE RAHHH LORELI DEFO SHOWED HIM HER MUSIC TASTE ISTG BRO

#FUCKING OH MY GOD BRO IT JUST FITS HIM #machine girl #agent of asgard #loki aoa #Agent of Asgard headcanon #marvel headcanons #loki headcanons #fuck you marvel he’s gay and gender-fluid #crying throwing up #comic Loki yayyayayayayayayaya #help the hyperfixation is real now bro #ok gn now pookies idefk anymore

[prickly-paprikash]

Don't you just hate it when one of the biggest grifters online decides to like a piece of media you like?

Gatekeeping is wrong. Forcing someone to like something in the specific way I interact and consume a piece of media is wrong. Art is meant to be viewed through a multitude of lenses, and each individual will have their own way of interpreting that creation. And that's good. That's fine. That's human.

But when an Anti-Woke Grifter who thinks alcoholism is a really cool personality trait and decides to brand everything about themselves as that; who has historically engaged and criticized films and shows and games and books in bad faith; who has put down women and POC's and Queer representation in media; who is one of the biggest dicks in the online space decides to actually pay attention to an art that is pretty much dipped, coated, laminated, and injected with fucking GAY, ANTI-PATRIARCHAL ENERGY—that's when I get mad.

For those not in the know, Critical Drinker has posted a review for Blue Eye Samurai, saying he likes it.

You know... Blue Eye Samurai?

The show that oozes Queer Wrath? Feminine Rage? Curb-Stomping Toxic Masculinity and the Patriarchy whenever and wherever it can? That Blue Eye Samurai?

See, he's done this before with Arcane.

He says he likes it. Him and his ilk say that, "Finally, the wokies have done something actually good!" and point to Vi and Jinx as strong female characters written well!

But they also say, dang, feels like all the men in that show are idiots and that they had to be dumbed down to make room for the rainbow-haired girlies brigade. Who have all remarked that Vi and Caitlyn's relationship is forced and being shoved down our throats because god forbid women like women!

I got sick of watching his Arcane review halfway, and this was before I knew what a douche Critical Sucker was.

So I ain't watching his Blue Eye Samurai review. Why?

His Glass Onion review was done in bad faith.

I didn't like She-Hulk, but that's because that show was a byproduct of abused VFX animators, creatively bankrupt executives, and writers desperately trying to manage a convoluted shared universe that continues to buckle under its own weight. Political Stinker over here thinks that it's pandering, stupid, feminist garbage. He is one of the biggest Anti-Feminist voices in Youtube.

Him and his incel brigade have an obsession over hating Captain Marvel and Brie Larson. These basement dwelling cucks rant and rave over a mediocre duology and an actress that just lives in their tiny heads rent-free.

He says that they are removing men from leading roles and roles of great importance!

So why would I want to listen to an inebriated libertarian's opinions on a show that has become the show for lesbians, trans mascs, and other lovely brands of gay and feminism that he oh so despises? He'll most likely praise the action and violence and shit like that, then probably say that Mizu and Taigen's homoerotic rivalry isn't gay actually. Or that Mizu and Akemi's narrative foils don't scream enemies-to-sapphics. Or that Mizu, WHO'S NAME MEANS WATER AND HER ENTIRE CHARACTER REVOLVES AROUND FLUIDITY ISN'T IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM FLUID IN HER GENDER AND SEXUALITY.

Fuck. I'm sorry. I don't even care if he doesn't say that. He's made so many disgusting, disparaging remarks about any piece of media that shows an inkling of progressive themes that what else am I supposed to expect?

If anyone watches it and sees this, lemme know. Watching an Anti-Woke bullshit video with just myself is just straight up wading through the desert without proper protection. No thanks.

Anyway watch Blue Eye Samurai again. Because I know you watched it. Watch it again. And again. And when you're done, watch Arcane. Watch She-Ra. Watch Dragon Prince. Castlevania. Watch anything "woke". Consume trans-positive shows. Make all the haters and even the ones who like it but have no ounce of media literacy irrelevant. Let them dry out and die, please.

#blue eye samurai #mizu #mizu blue eye samurai #taigen #akemi #arcane #vi #jinx #castlevania nocturne #castlevania

[kneelbeforeclefairy]

Okay my problem with sylki isn't it's selfcest or they're the same person. It's literally fiction, loosen up Tumblr puritans if anyones gonna get down with themselves it's Loki. If it's not your thing, no shame, but there's nothing WRONG with it as, as I've mentioned , it's FICTION, has no bearing on who you ar as person what fictional ships you like, and has no real world consequences because it isn't even possible.

My problem isn't even the "he's bi why can't he be in a gay relationship" cause, yes, why CAN'T he, but he can also be in a "straight" relationship too. That's the point of being bi. Also at least Tom's Loki is gender fluid , Sylvie probably is too, so any realtionship between them is automatically queer cause they're both enby, and neither are a woman or a man .

(but YES it does feel disingenuous of marvel to take a charecter who has had no love interest for SIX MOVIES , and shown no romantic or sexual interest in anyone, reveal he's bisexual and THEN get him together with a woman in the next episode. Like, Loki's bi, and nothing marvel will do can ever take that away from me, but ....it does feel like having your cake and eating it too. We'd be very happy with no love interest too)

It isn't even that I don't like Sylvie herself. I DO. I LOVE her Loki, her version of Loki's life, the ways they're similar, the ways they're different. The way I think she kind of reminds Loki of Thor sometimes (angry blondes gonna hit something she shouldn't hit. Must stop before it gets worse!) (Cause that moment when she was about to kill he who remains , Loki's tactic to calm her down and reasons behind it were eerily similar to him stopping Thor from attacking the frost Giants in movie 1) I think that Sylvie is a rare occurance--a female charecter that is fully developed, has goals and wants of her own, and isn't just a love interest. I would very much like to see more of her.

My problem is. Loki. LOKI Loki. Tom's Loki, is our mail charecter. Main characters must go through charecter development. They must have a WANT and to contrast with it a NEED. they must pursue said WANT and at the end of the day , get not necessarily what they WANT but what they NEED.

So what does Loki WANT? Well in episode one we get a very clear want. Loki wants to destroy the TVA. He wants to figure out who's behind this and get rid of them. Right. Good. That's the plot.

Now we're looking at his internal arc. Mobius lays it out, again, in episode one. Loki is, BAD. He causes pain and suffering wherever he goes and hurts everyone he loves. He does bad things. And his role in this game of destiny is to be Bad, so other can be good. Loki realizes that about himself, and he hates it. He doesn't really want to be Bad. And he certainly doesn't want to be a pawn in others stories. So meld the internal arc, the NEED to the WANT and Loki wants to destroy the TVA so that he can get away from his destiny to hurt people and see what else he's capable of.

(this entire arc was also done a lot better in Ragnarok. )

Okay so. We jump around. Loki tricks people, Loki gains information. He meets Sylvie. Their goals align. Sylvie wants to destroy the TVA. Very well and good.

Now thematically, this is where the want and the need should start switching at the midpoint. The midpoint of the series s of course episode 3, when Loki realizes the TVA isn't all it seems to be and everyone is a varient.

And here's where it falls apart. There's that fun scene with Sif where she criticizes Loki for being a worm or whatever. I thought that was going to go somewhere but it didn't. But after that Loki's plotline fizzles out. He no longer really wants to destroy the TVA, Sylvie does. The show now becomes about HER goal to do that. And Loki's need sort of...disappears. instead of growing or learning something about himself, his need seems to be Love Sylvie. And that doesn't add up.

So either this is EXTREMELY lazy writing.

(yes. Yes it is)

Or someone thought that the way to fulfuil all of Loki's emotional needs--whicj we've seen develop over, let me state this again SIX MOVIES-- were to give him a love interest. Not to mention they thought that was the culmination of his plot NEED. Loki WANTS To destroy the TVA but NEEDS to...fall in love?

There's an argument to be made for a very literal reading of he needs to accept himself, but not only is that not what's being set up here, it's fucking stupid because loving Sylvie who--while they're the same person technically--has had a completely different life, personality, choices, has nothing to do with accepting THIS Loki.

So then we do this main charecter switch. Loki now just follows along Sylvie's goal. He has no more need, and no more real want. Sylvie has a want, but no need either. And the one moment when Loki tries to talk her down, and says he can't risk the universe in exchange for power really falls flat because Loki is not seen to WANT To rule the universe through the tva. He's way past that.

So in an attempt to just tie up loose ends what he got, instead of self actualization, instead of charecter development, instead or ANYTHING, was a kiss.

Because in Hollywoodland, kisses solve everything. And that's where my aro ass jumps off the film school horse and onto the UGKGBVSJJBE keysmash horse. Because they really do believe that it is Good Writing to do that because Love Solves Everything .

And I'm pissy.

#hey remember wjen i went to film school' #loki spoilers

[vampish-glamour]

Loki being able to shape-shift has really brought out the gender fandom, huh? On top of that, one of the head writers literally admitted that she always had the head canon that Loki was bisexual, and did whatever she could to get on the show, just to make him bi. In some extent, I can kind of appreciate the sentiment. On the other hand, as a writer myself, that is... fucking weird. The show ruins Marvel continuity in SOOOO many terrible ways, and one of the writers main interest in the project was just "Look! He's a bi!!! ... oh wait. I have to write the rest of the story now. Huh."

I just want good stories, and good rep. I would trade in every example of shitty half-baked representation for a good story about Loki, even if he's the straightest most cis man ever. No more "angels are sexless beings so this is uhhh gay ace trans nonbinary demisexual rep" and "Loki is bi!!! The rest of the story sucks! Loki is gender fluid!" It's at the point where I'm writing all the books I want to exist, just so I don't have to deal with this lol. Either make the story AND the representation good, or just don't bother.

It really has… it’s really annoying to watch people see a literal god shapeshift, as literal gods do… and then go “omg that’s just like me!!!”. Really tells you about the “more than human” complex a lot of these people have, IMO.

I understand the writer’s sentiment too. If you see something in a character and have a chance to bring that something to canon, I understand why you’d want to get that chance. But you’re absolutely right that it’s weird when it comes to writing for a show. Sure, showing a character’s sexuality can be a goal of yours. But it being the main goal?? Ehhh I don’t like that. Characters, and people for that matter, are much more than their sexuality. If all you have to bring to the table is “he’s bi!!”, then you shouldn’t be at the table at all.

Seriously though… I just want good stories. Give me a good story with a character who happens to be lgbt. But stop trying to just make “representation” the main goal and letting everything else fall flat.

And yes, can we please do away with “this can represent anything and anyone!!!! Because they’re non human, so representation everywhere!!!”… it’s so lazy and so low effort. If you can claim representation for everyone, you’re actually representing nobody. Representation only happens when a character is undeniably a certain thing. Representation isn’t when it’s “open for interpretation”.

Side note… you say that Loki ruins a lot of Marvel continuity. I want to watch the show but I know next to nothing about Marvel lore because superhero movies aren’t really my thing—but I like Loki as a character. So does the lack of continuity mean I can watch it and not be confused?

#asks #anon

[flashfuture]

I know it’s kind of sus to say “as a (this)” on anon but like I have no earthly clue why it’s so hard for companies to name bi characters because like I feel like they are stuck on “it’s just one stop from being gay” and that’s too much for them that acting as if a bi person in media MUST date the the same sex or it somehow invalidates their realationships with opposite sex like—sometimes I feel like they miss the plot and forget bi means more than one

This is all the place but I’m just a salty samon about this.

In this case I also don’t think you have to be bi to advocate for bi characters. I’m not trans but I push to see trans characters. I feel strongly that everyone deserves to be represented and represented well. Not like in a John Constantine who’s bi but your love life will be a joke way. 

Marvel is much much better than DC at their LGBT rep but they can get a little weird around certain characters. (Tho I’ll never get over DC accidentally making Hal canonically gender-fluid lol)

Johnny Storm has always always been queer-coded and Marvel just refuses. The writers have said he was straight-up sleeping with Daken and it was very clear in the writing itself I feel like it’s his ties to you know old school he’s in the first family nuclear family silver age stuff. 

Same with Namor dude is so pan but they don’t confirm it probably because of how old he is as a character.

I think Felicia Hardy is maybe only the character who has been shown with women and men that I can think of where it isn’t just like a threesome. Which isn’t bad but you know that’s for the sex appeal. 

Actually, I amend Peter Quill very recently was in a poly marriage with a female and male presenting alien and it was very lovely and they had a kid and yeah go Guardians writers. 

Tony Stark has made illusions to dating men and women but it’s not confirmed he’s bi. 

Wade is pan and like me too bitch the fuck but also his love life sucks because well the dudes life sucks. Ryan Reynolds out here pushing for pansexual Deadpool on the big screen like lets go.

Actually, that joke up top about DC accidentally making Hal genderfluid? Well Marvel made Loki and Raven canon genderfluid on purpose. And they own it. 

Also Marvel can look at characters and randomly decide this one is gay now cause we think it would be good is so funny. I can’t stress enough how little I thought Bobby was gay before they had him come out. And that- that is fucking amazing. The fact that they can realize some people take longer to realize, that some people can have had fulfilling relationships with the opposite sex and still be gay is phenomenal. 

Shatterstar and Rictor were very very close best friends back in the day. And with Rictor he has a whole plotline about realizing he was just doing comphet. and they talk about religion and just yeah. 

Marvel does a very good job imo of writing queer stories because the romance feels natural. 

TBH I think DC does romance poorly in general so maybe that and everyone having the same personality is the problem

But yeah I wonder why the hang ups on some characters in Marvel when like really Johnny and Namor? You’re trying to play that game with us??? 

Lol I don’t know where im going with this anon other than I agree bi characters deserve more rep and more respect 

#dc comics #marvel comics #let your characters be bi #and pan #and gay #and trans #and queer in general

[anactualcaseofthetruth]

I was speaking to a co-worker about The Old Guard and...

I, of course, mentioned how much I love it and how powerful it is to have a film with strong female leads, multiple POC, and a healthy, loving gay relationship. He shrugged and said "The action scenes were pretty good, but of course they had to add the gay stuff in it..." and that REALLY pissed me off.

What other hero-type movie has LGBT+ representation? I can't think of one Marvel movie, a single DC movie, or any other independent film. Deadpool is canonically pan, but it's not included in the movie, I don't think, and if it is, we still see him in a hetero relationship. I could definitely see Captain Marvel as gay/bi, especially with how they wrote the relationship with her best friend, but it is written as her best friend, not partner. Valkyrie is bisexual and its hinted at, but again, no written in. Loki is freaking gender fluid and it will never be touched upon.

"OF COURSE THEY ADDED IT IN"???

There are virtually NO other real LGBT+ representation in this genre.

It was in the freaking comics!!! As I told him. He shrugged again and mumbled about not even knowing it was a comic. I pointed out that, also in the comics, Quynh and Andy are together (is Lykon involved?? I'm working on getting the comics) and he nodded. OF COURSE its "okay" if it's a female/female relationship because that's "hot" to some dudes.

I asked him what bothered him about it and he couldn't give a real answer, said something about not needing to see it, and I tried not to flip the fuck out... but said, honestly, it wasn't a main focal point. You didn't even realize they were in a relationship (if you're not paying attention to detail) until maybe Nile's dream? But definitely the van scene. So how did it take away from the movie AT ALL?

Again, he had no real answer and was done with the conversation.

Shit like this pisses me off.... it wasn't "in your face" like people complain about. It wasn't all dicks and dude on dude for 2 hours straight, or even had any kind of sexual scene. The van scene, to me, was loving and beautiful and honest. To me, Nicky and Joe ADDED so much to the movie, every character did.

Sometimes I hate people. Sorry, I needed to vent.

Any thoughts? Additions?

#the old guard #lgbtq #superhero movies #joe x nicky #gay relationship #my coworker is an ignorant ass #this is my rant #2020

[thelastemointheworld-blog]

Non-binary, Social Media and Representation...

One issue that everyone has been discussing in recent years is the question of representativeness, both gender and racial representativity are very important - even more so for those who live where I live, Brazil - our society here is very Eurocentric still and this generates a problem in social issues. For example, last year the film "Black Panther" - I love you MARVEL / Tchalla - made a huge success and took thousands of black people to the movies because of the representativeness and inclusion of black heroes on the big screen ... You can not imagine how difficult it is in a society like Brazil to have a black character as the hero, even more as a protagonist, and yes, even if I did not like the visual effects - here comes a more particular vision than a movie review - the film remains incredible.

But I've noticed one thing about researching on social networks ... there is no representation of many LGBTQ groups, I as not binary, I know very few - perhaps no - non-binary character or fluid genre in media I accompany and this includes books, reality shows, anime, cartoons, fanfictions ... there are simply no such characters in social media. It reminded me of my Grace, and how important it was to a friend of mine who felt for the first time in many years represented in a specific media such as fanfics, and Grace is a male, transsexual character who does not have the to be trans his main characteristic, he is a strong, independent person with a troubled history, but he does not let himself be shaken by it.

And yes, maybe it's that kind of representation that we need, people who do not have as a primordial characteristic to be gay, bi, lesbian, trans, anyway, we do not want simply caricatures, we want fucking characters that happen to be LGBTQA.

Thanks to read,

L.

#lgbtqa #queer pride #we are all human

[gywin97]

Give me LGBTQA Marvel!

Honestly, I really wish Marvel would just step up to the plate and make at least one of their main characters that are still single to be LGBTQA.

Like Steve would be the obvious choice with Bucky. Even if you don’t ship them personally, these are two well-defined, in-depth characters that have been in enough movies for the audiences to know and care about them. They have characterization beyond just ‘that gay characters,’ they both have a role in the coming movies and clear, defined personality. For fuck's sake, there was a whole movie showing how devoted Steve is to Bucky, with subtext literally everywhere.

And yet, they keep shoving him with random female characters like Shannon who has ten lines and no development whatsoever. And it’s not like they don’t already have a range of characters!

Sexualized aliens? Go for it!

Literal Gods and multiple worlds? Believable!

A robot born from AI and a magic crystal who falls in love with a ‘Witch?’ Well, it’s 2017!

A talking raccoon and a humanoid tree who are best friends? Sure, why not?

But gay superhero?

That’s not believable.

We can’t do that.

Think of the ratings!

They are arguably the largest movie franchise of this decade, making millions of dollars in profit each movie, and they’re still too damn scared to show any LGBTQ characters.

And what pisses me off the most is the hypocrisy.

I grew up with Marvel comics, and no matter if you read X-Men or Avengers, the main point of all the comics was acceptance. It was about people who were different from the norm, who were hated for something they were born into and had no control over, and it was about them slowly being seen and accepted by society.

Hell, most of the X-Man ‘mom I’m a mutant’ scenes was designed to show what it was like for kids coming out to parents they knew wouldn’t accept them! For example, take the scene from the only movies, where Bobby Drake (Iceman) explains to his parents what he is!

Like, the comic books have tons of LGBTQA rep. Bobby is 100% gay:

Captain America is hinted at being Bisexual:

They had an INTER-RACIAL gay wedding years ago with NorthStar:

Godly lesbian couples:

And even shape-shifting gender-fluid couples!

But that’s the whole point of Marvel. It’s about being different, it’s about breaking the mold and changing views. It’s about people slowly becoming accepted by their families or making new families along the way. It’s about everyone belonging and everyone having a place.

I grew up reading these comics, and when I was trying to come out I would find refuge there. I would look at my favorite characters and tell myself if people can accept mutants and aliens, surely society can accept me being gay. And as a scared 15-year-old, this was my ideal world; a world where you could be yourself and have others standing next to you, ready to (literally) fight for you and your right to exist.

I wish Marvel would understand that not everyone watching their movies needs to see a straight, white male saving the day again and again. Marvel doesn’t need perfect, cliché heroes and penny-dreadful romance stories. That’s not what Marvel is supposed to be about.

That’s not who Marvel was supposed to be for.

Marvel is supposed to be for people like us, who are still fighting for their place and acceptance in society. Marvel is for the outcasts, the ‘weirdo’s,’ the people still scared to show who they are to the world because they’re not sure if the world will understand them.

Marvel is supposed to be for us.

I just wish someone would tell Marvel that.

#Marvel #x-men #avengers #bobby drake #iceman #LGBTQ #Pride #Gay #comics #Stucky #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barns #captain america #Northstar #Mystique #lesbians #trans #genderfluid

[bny4kuya]

Mah OCs because why not

|| Savannah || 

Birthday: February 26 | Female | Bisexual | 16 | She has curly blonde shoulder length hair that she likes to straighten out and temporarily dye sometimes. Has hazel eyes, and is the dirtiest minded person you will ever meet. Is a weird boi, The Artist Child™. Loves the guitar, piano and ukulele. Marvel and musicals are her life tho. She has two dads (who absolutely love Kyle and Charles). She loves wearing oversized sweaters, crop tops, and small skirts/shorts.

|| Vanessa || 

Birthday: August 11 | Female | Lesbean Lesbian | 17 | She has really long black to bright red ombre hair (she wears it in a ponytail a lot). Sometimes she is sassy as fuck and it’s hilarious. You better believe she loves rocking out to musicals with Savannah and Charles. She lives with her mom. She has these really pretty, shiny, black eyes and is kind of an emo. She loves soccer and basketball as been playing since she was five. She’s also Savannah’s girlfriend. 

|| Haley || 

Birthday: June 15 | Trans Female | Asexual-Aromantic | 19 | Bipolar Disorder | She has long dirty blonde hair that she always, and i mean always has in double buns (except for when she goes to sleep). She has hazel eyes. She’s Savannah’s older sister. She and Vanessa secretly hate each other and fight over Savannah. She wears pastel colors. She likes wearing chokers, tank tops with cleavage, and absolutely loves Starbucks.

|| Yvonne ||

Birthday: August 13 | Female | The Only Straight Boi In The Group™ | 16 | She has long wavy brownish hair.  She got them freckles. She has small little brown eyes. She loves the violin. She’s such a smol and pure little bean and youngest boi in the group. She’s really short tho, never understands the ‘that’s what she said’ jokes and gets frustrated when they laugh at her innocence. Lives with her mom and dad, button up shirts and capri jeans are her thing.

|| Kyle ||

Birthday: August 12 | Trans Male | Demisexual | 16 | PTSD | Brown floofy, curly hair. Is really pale. Has black eyes. Nerdy boi in the group. Is the mom friend. Lives with Savannah and loves her parents. He likes take videos of Vanessa, Savannah and Charles while they rock out to musicals. He’s the king of the trumpet (he plays Careless Whisper when Charles walks into a room, it’s great). A white shirt and black jeans is his everyday outfit.

|| RJ ||

Birthday: November 21 | Gender-fluid | Pansexual | 17 | Depression | Anxiety | Anorexia | PTSD | Was born a blonde. Has black to purple ombre shoulder length hair. They have bags under their pretty blue eyes (my poor bby). RJ and Savannah both share the same interests. She took RJ to go see “Hamilton”. They have two moms. Likes drawing their friends and loves singing them to sleep. They wear sweaters, hoodies, converse, and ripped jeans everyday. 

|| Charles ||

Birthday: November 29 | Male | Gay | 17 | Has dirty blonde wavy hair with rainbow streaks. Has very light blue eyes. Is super happy and bubbly gets excited about almost everything. Loves politics and going to protests. He likes going to pride parades with his friends. Loves acting and plays in every musical and play their school has along with RJ and Savannah. Wears a lot of musical merch (me too tho). Is the Meme Lord™. He’s Kyle’s boyfriend.

#yes there are three August birthdays in a row #ocs #my ocs #oc shit

[violet--minds-blog]

Why Bisexual Rep Is Important

Piper Gibson | March 17, 2017 (Note: This was written on September 23, 2016, so anything that has occurred in the shows mentioned in terms of representation may be missing. If so please let me know and I’ll correct it!) In honor of Bisexual Visibility Day, I wrote a little something. And if you’re curious why this day is named for visibility, not celebration or appreciation, then just read on.

So, it’s not that I didn’t know gay people existed when I was a kid.

I knew. I grew up watching Friends, after all; Ross’s ex-wife Carol and her partner Susan were lesbians. I watched Ellen with my grandma. When Glee first aired I was in eighth grade. I knew that there were people out there that were gay, and we had family friends that are gay that I’d met once or twice. But I had no fucking clue about anything else, and I definitely didn’t know what the hell “bisexual” meant until I was in my teens.

I don’t have a specific memory of learning about the word, but there was certainly a few years of a gap between gaining the knowledge and applying it to myself. I figured it out somewhere around junior year of high school, and came out to my parents in the winter of my senior year. All that time I’d liked girls and hadn’t accepted it, hadn’t let myself feel it. The first time I was suicidal l was twelve, and it was because I had a crush on a girl and didn’t know what to do or how to feel about it.

This is why bisexual representation matters. Because even though I’d seen representations for lesbians and gay men as a kid, I’d never seen me on television. I’d never even heard the word bisexual as an identifying word on tv or in the movies before. (I still haven’t.) Sure, I’d heard the word-- like in Glee, when Blaine is questioning his sexuality and says he might be bisexual, and Kurt, a gay man, replies angrily, “Bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they wanna hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change.” That was the first time I heard the word bisexual on television, is still the only example I can remember, and that’s the message I got about who I was. I was fake. I was a lie. In fact, the word wasn’t even applicable to me-- I wasn’t a gay guy, I was a girl and I was confused and looking for validation. And the media spit in my face.

As far as representation goes, bisexual people have it pretty rough. There is a theme in media, a very dangerous theme, that implicitly shows characters are bisexual and explicitly tells the audience they’re straight. I have example after example of this, files of queerbaiting I’ve stowed in my head for years.

Dean Winchester from Supernatural holds all of his long-standing emotional relationships with men, bonds best with men, is shown to be attracted to men, and only sleeps with/dates women. He is a “womanizer” and his relationships with women never last, whereas he works at his relationships with the men in his life. He cares deeply for them and sacrifices everything for them, but he’s not bi. He’s straight, he sleeps with women, see?

Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, has healthy, strong, intense relationships with men and women. He’s “not good with girls,” but he’s good with his absolute best friend Bucky, who he’s known since childhood and holds above all else. He falls in love with Peggy Carter, yes, and their brief relationship is important and real, but he also drops everything and flies into enemy lines to rescue Bucky. He becomes a completely different person from grief when he believes Bucky to be dead. When Bucky comes back as a brainwashed soldier and doesn’t know Steve, Steve won’t fight him, and is prepared to die rather than hurt this man who doesn’t even remember him. He drops the shield and stops being Captain America because the alternative is losing Bucky. The writers and actors and media all call Bucky and Steve’s arc a “love story,” but insist that they’re both straight. Peggy happened, right? Bucky slept with loads of women, right?

One of the biggest examples of queerbaiting, BBC’s Sherlock, shows John Watson have relationships with women but above all put Sherlock first, caring for him and supporting him and loving him like he would a boyfriend. He’s Sherlock’s only friend and confidant and they live together and share their whole lives together, but somehow this doesn’t matter because he has relationships with women. There’s even a scene where he yells that he’s not gay, which I remember watching and thinking, “you don’t have to be gay to like the same gender.” But he marries a girl, right? He’s not gay, so what does it matter?

I have so many more examples. Jessica Jones (from the Marvel show of the same name) and her best friend Trish act like ex-girlfriends, are treated by the show as ex-girlfriends, and the first season ends with Jessica saying something she never does-- “I love you”-- to Trish and embracing her. This by all accounts looks like them getting back together, but they both have male romantic interests, so none of that matters. Merlin and Arthur from Merlin have an epic love story and sacrifice life and limb for each other, but they both get girlfriends and eventually, wives. Harry Potter is very into both Draco Malfoy and Cedric Diggory throughout the books but dates only women and marries Ginny in the end. Even in How to Get Away With Murder, where Annalise Keating has explicit relationships with women and men and is very clearly bisexual, they still haven’t said the word out loud. It’s a very scary word, apparently.

Something dangerous happens when media implicitly grants a community representation but doesn’t give them explicitly stated, canon representation. We are told we are shameful. We are told we are bad and dirty and must be kept secret. And when we have the gall to point out how obvious it is for us that these characters are bisexual like we are-- because those in the LGBTQ+ community are taught to read subtext and interpret media for ourselves from a young age-- the general public laughs in our faces. They call us “crazy fans” (which, okay, is super dismissing and dehumanizing and ableist) and tell us that actually, we’re fetishizing these characters, and we need to stop.

It’s different for queer people. There is no explicit bisexual representation. But when I see Jessica Jones look at her best friend the same way I looked at female friends of mine when I was twelve? When I see Merlin and Arthur look into each other’s eyes and smile the same way me and my girlfriend do? It feels the same. It’s just not straight. And the writers of these characters know it. They know it and they use it, because we’re starving for validation and we’ll take anything. They write these scenes, these loving glances, purposely, then turn around and tell us our beloved characters are straight. Why would they not be? They have girlfriends and boyfriends, after all. Nevermind what that says to bisexual men who lean towards dating women and feel weird and shameful about their attraction to men, who watch Supernatural and wonder why they relate so much to Dean. Nevermind what that says to bisexual women who watch women on screen be physically affectionate and loving towards each other and who are told that this is strictly platonic; female friends are all like this, and it’s definitely not romantic.

Television does not seem to understand the possibility of being attracted to more than one gender. For me, someone who’s loved every gender since I can remember, it seems strange to only like one gender. I love boys and I love girls and I love everyone in between, and this isn’t taken away by me currently dating a girl. I wasn’t straight when I dated a boy in high school, and I’m not a lesbian now. But in television, you’re a straight woman if you date men. You’re a straight man if you date women. Nothing else matters, especially not your long-standing, emotional, loving relationships with the same gender.

There is a problem in the media with being afraid of this word. I’d like to know why that is. More and more shows are including gay characters now, giving them girlfriends and boyfriends and plotlines and interesting stories. (We won’t touch on the “bury your gays” trope here.) But there’s still so, so, so little explicitly defined bisexual characters. If they’re bi, this is shown, not told. We learn they’re bi from them kissing boys and girls, not by them mentioning it. This is a clear distinction, and it’s important to note. I can’t think of a single example of something I’ve watched or read where a character said themselves that they were bisexual. Self-identifying, strongly and confidently, is important. Not being outed, not just showing their identity by making out with multiple genders, and not saying a stupid cop-out like “well, sexuality is fluid” or “I’m not straight or gay, I’m just… y’know.”

No. Young bisexuals don’t know. Young me didn’t know. If I had been watching TV and heard someone call themselves bisexual, proud and clear, I’d have sat up. I’d have listened. I wouldn’t have had to watch show after show, movie after movie, read book after book and gone to my other queer friends, saying with raised eyebrows, “This is fucking gay, right? I’m not the only one?”

We see your implicit representation and we want better. We deserve better. We demand better, for us and for young bisexuals, their stomachs sinking every time they watch TV and a joke is made about two characters of the same gender being “too close.” My stomach sank when I was a kid and I watched Joey and Chandler hug and say “We do this too much, don’t we?” and break apart.

I didn’t know why then, but I do now. And I-- we-- deserve better.

And to not end this on a sad note, I do have hope. I am tired of queerbaiting and biphobia, but I have hope. When I was a kid I had nothing-- at the very least now, I have characters on TV who kiss people of multiple genders. Eventually they’ll be allowed to say that they’re bisexual out loud, but for now I have confirmation from show runners that I was right, that they are bi. For now I have amazing bisexual Youtubers like Dodie Clark and Chris Kendall and Alayna Fender. For now I have Korra from Legend of Korra and Jack Zimmermann from Check, Please! (READ IT HERE) and Annalise Keating from How to Get Away With Murder. For now I hold the little rep I have close to my heart and wait for a better time, a time when “bisexual” is not a scary word to say on television or in movies. After all, we have all these angry bisexuals with no representation and a fierce desire to see themselves in media. That’s just a recipe for shit to get done.

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