Recently we have seen a number of films announce their historic and revolutionary LGBTQ inclusion. And then when the actual product has been released it’s clear that all that hyping in the press has been… rather exaggerated.
We saw this with Beauty and the Beast which widely spread across the media as having DIsney’s first openly gay character on film! And with Power Rangers loudly proclaiming they have the first gay superhero! Yaaaay!
As an aside - can we not all leap in with lists of “queer-coded” Disney villains - i.e. nearly all of them - as evidence of previous gay representation? Any kind of coding/implication/subtext is not representation and it’s extremely problematic that LGBTQ people are continually expected to accept these as representation. We’re repeatedly told that we have to celebrate subtext as inclusion while the erasure of actual LGBTQ people continues - we deserve better than to be the Love That Dare Not Do More Than Imply Its Name. It’s also a pernicious homophobic trope to “gay/queer code” villains: presenting markers of LGBTQ sexuality as evil is tired, common and in no way should appear anywhere as praiseworthy or representative. So, please please do not do this.
As these films actually hit cinemas it quickly became clear that the actual representation was… lacking. LeFou in Beauty and the Beast after spending the whole film working through a checklist of gay stereotypes ended up dancing oh-so-briefly with a man. It wasn’t even something he sought out, it just kind of happened. While it may shock you, your very brief dance partner does not actually indicate your sexuality - just look at all those tedious reality-TV-dance competitions that adamantly won’t pair gay contestants with their own gender.
Ground breaking representation it was not.
Similarly in Power Rangers we see that Trini, the supposed lesbian/bisexual character, turned out to be a teenager with “a lot going on” trying to figure out her life. Someone snarks at her about “boyfriend/girlfriend” trouble without her confirming either way
Well, damn, I’m amazed cinemas didn’t have to deck the rooms in rainbows to respect the sheer power of the representation here?
Even with these not exactly being hailed and universally praised by LGBTQ people, it has kept on happening.
Marvel is becoming an expert - from taunting about Captain America, they teased with Black Panther, then crushed the hopes, then the echoes hadn’t even died before they decided to pull the same damn nonsense with Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Any guesses as to there being an LGBTQ character there? No guesses needed - it didn’t happen. DC is getting in on the action already teasing hints about a female love interest for Wonderwoman.
Star Wars is such a repeat offender of this - and despite repeatedly teasing the possibility of a gay relationship it’s never emerged. Yet even while saying that the next film will not have LGBTQ inclusion - again - they’re still teasing the vague, ill-defined possibility in the film after this. Anyone holding their breath?
It’s opposite number, Star Trek pulled a Le Fou with Sulu - and then cut it down and reduced it because blink-and-you-miss-it is portrayal now.
Fantastic Beasts 2 is also teasing the possibility of a gay romance - of course with no confirmation at all so, again, don’t hold your breath. But this is the habit - writers, actors, producers go to the press, they tease, they torment, they raise hopes then they crash them. Of course, this just seems like it’s continuing the habit of the book - because people are still praising JK Rowling for her awesome - but completely non-existent - LGBTQ inclusion. Hey, Word-Of-Gay counted as inclusion in the books, why wouldn’t we let it pass on television?
