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tyrannoninja · 5 months

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One symptom of the LGBT+ community remaining under-represented in media is the tendency of some fans, both LGBT+ and allies, reading queer or transgender identities into characters based on the most superficial "markers", even if those supposed markers actually have nothing to do with being queer or trans.

For instance, I've seen people claim that certain female characters have to be lesbian based on their hairstyles. Nimaari from Raya & the Last Dragon is one example I have encountered. Sorry, but since when did someone's hairstyle give away their sexual orientation? Nimaari's hairstyle doesn't even look traditionally masculine to me, assuming of course that many of the people who claim her as lesbian have fallen for the homophobic "butch" stereotype of lesbians.

(How the fuck did the equation of gender-nonconformity with queer sexual orientations even come about in the first place? Did someone way back when decide that everyone attracted to men had to have been womanlike and that everyone attracted to women had to have been mannish? That doesn't even make sense to me. If I were lesbian, it seems more likely that I've gravitate toward women with voluptuous hourglass figures than I would the so-called "butches", and if I were a gay man, I'd more likely prefer tall and hunky dudes to lanky and effeminate ones. In both cases, I'd strive to be what I found most attractive since that's what most of my potential partners would prefer.)

To be fair, I don't remember Nimaari ever showing any sign of physical attraction toward any other character, and I know she never got into a relationship. As far as I'm concerned, anyone can headcanon her however they want given that lack of textual evidence for her actual sexual orientation. But that's all it'll ever be, a personal headcanon. It's not like Ballister and Ambrosius from Nimona whose romantic intimacy toward one another is unambiguous.

#lgbt+ representation #homophobia #stereotypes #transphobia #lgbt+ themes

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thanksgiving-isnt-ur-fav-holiday · 3 years

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