The Gay Fetish

The Gay Fetish

(Disclaimer : this is a reaction to Dan Howell bashing #stormpilot, for more information about that please read the post linked right here : http://theuncannymary.tumblr.com/post/138205254297/whats-the-stormpilot-thing-pls-i-need-to-know)

Hi everybody, Mary here.

It seems a little bit pointless, when you think about it, to call our celebrities on their bad behaviour ?

But I still do it, because justice needs to be served. There are things I can't let pass and this is one of those. Let me explain.

So, we have #randomstraightdude over there, he's called Dan, he is totally uneducated about the LGBTQ+ community.

(Note : I was blatantly ignorant myself until last year so there's hope for improvement. He definitely needs to educate himself or some sh*t, because he should realise the impact of his words and the wide audience listening to it.)

Anyways, he just reduced #stormpilot to sex, sex, sex, nothing but sex. He said that our hopes of it ever getting "canon" were "desperate". He called us "dirty sinners" and reduced what could be the most brilliant representation of queer POC to "porking each other".

Basically, he shat on all of us queer people, on people of colour, on queer people of colour, and everyone who ships #stormpilot because they want to see it happen.

So, I'll tell what's going to happen if #stormpilot becomes canon (which I actually hope to be) :

1) New Star Wars fans, the younger generation, will grow up with Rey, Poe and Finn. They will realise the representation of their own skin, of black & Latino people, of a badass woman who gives no f*cks. I grew up with Han, Leia and Luke ; a "scoundrel" who turned selfless for love, a badass woman who gave no f*cks, and another guy who overcame his own fears to become brave while still being kind and generous. And the next generation will be growing up with a rebel black StormTrooper, a Latino pilot and a badass woman will improve the mentalities and give them hope of accepting themselves in a, sadly still racist and misognystic, world.

2) This would actually be bold from Disney to feature an interracial gay couple in a big blockbuster... but when you think about it, recent movies about LGBTQ+ people are Carol, About Ray and The Danish Girl (the two latter I still have to watch). Having people buying LGBTQ+ stories show the demand on the market, which is the only thing big Hollywodian productions care about. The money, the sales, the come-back via merchandise and derived products.

These last six months have shown people going to movies featuring LGBTQ+ people, showing there are tons of opportunities for queer people (especially those of colour) to be represented. And they could actually pull out more money and be successful, while educating people and opening their minds to how normal being queer actually is. They didn't want to sell Rey in the beginning because they thought selling "girls toys" wouldn't matter ? It did. Everyone got so mad that they had to produce. Which means, when we ask for it, we get it. We just have to be more vocal about it and ask for representation and accurate portrayal of queer people in the media.

3) It would show that queer people aren't inherently sexual (because kids are watching lolol). Even if they were, what's the matter ? Queer people don't owe you anything. But reducing queer people to sex, not exploring the depths of their struggles to find themselves, to accept themselves, to find the right person, to love and be loved, their romance, their little "days in the life", their cute moments, their shared affection, their weddings, their families, their jobs, their personalities, their hobbies, their hopes, their wishes, their dreams, their expectations, their fears, their problems, their anxieties, all of what makes a human, well... human, it's like scrapping these people up just for a comic punchline, a hot gay sex scene, a quirk, a personality trait, something of lesser importance.

What I'm trying to say here is, we never sexualise or fetishise queer couples. And while I admit that I tend to fetishise my own queer ships, I have the clarity to know why.

You know why we fetishise queer people ? Why we ship people in gay couples even if they don't drop a single hint of being queer ?

BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH REPRESENTATION IN THE MEDIA FFS !!! AND WHENEVER THERE IS, IT'S EXTREMELY BAD !!! AND INHERENTLY SEXUAL !!! WHY DO I NEED TO TELL THIS IN CAP LOCKS ??? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE UNDERSTAND ???

And there it is. The reason for which "the gay fetish" still exists. Because in a world where mentalities would have changed so much that everyone, regardless of sexuality, romance or gender, would be considered equal and normal by their straight-cis peers, we wouldn't have to make such a fuss about it and create opportunities wherever we see a little hint of gay.

We wouldn't have to make up things, to create things that aren't canon because the creators don't want to, because they believe "it won't sell", or because they are queerphobic af.

We wouldn't have to justify something like #stormpilot because everyone would think it's normal.

You, my dear Dan, wouldn't have to say such nasty things in front of thousands, if not millions, to see.

I wouldn't have to tell you what's wrong with your bullsh*t.

We wouldn't be talking about this right now.

Anyways, I'll end it there and I'll see you all soon with another post.

And as usual, our last word : KIDNEYS !!!