Awesome Con Friday Panel: “Homophobia in Fandom”
This panel of four women discussed how both the entertainment industry and fandoms can be tone-deaf at best, shockingly offensive and abusive (in terms of fans) at worst. Yeah, looking at you, The 100. And you too, my beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (RIP, Tara.) Can we get to a point where the horrible “Bury Your Gays” trope finally gets it’s own death? (And let’s get rid of the ol’ “The Black Character Dies First” trope too, ‘kay?)
But it’s not just that. There’s a whole slew of ways the entertainment industry at once actively courts, while shying away from, the LGBTQ community. Queerbaiting, when characters are teased as “maybe, possibly, wink-wink” gay/romantically linked will never be. Prime example? Smallville’s Clark & Lex. Sometimes it’s the actors who try to inject a bit of on-the-sly inclusivity into the works, but other times the creators themselves will do it…and while it’s all adorable at first (that sound you hear are a thousand Finn & Poe slashfics being posted) it doesn’t help the LGBTQ community find real, believable characters they can see themselves in.
Finally, there’s a matter of fans themselves. Be it straight teen fans who stopped watching Dawson’s Creek when a character came out, or Disney “purists” (whatever) who thought the Red/Dorothy romance in Once Upon A Time “wasn’t appropriate for a family show” (UGH), there’s often a sense of feeling like you’re an outsider if you don’t go along. “I had to censor a lot of my opinions…adapted my opinions”, said one panel member of the Dawson’s gay character. She felt she had to echo the disgust and outrage, even though inside she “was screaming ‘I totally disagree.’” Then there are fans (typically male) who have no problem with lesbian representation, but balk when it’s two men instead. As long as it’s for the male gaze, amirite?
Panel Grade: A+
Tl;dr: Homophobia in fandom and the entertainment industry is alive and well, and people who are uncomfortable with LGBTQ representation in entertainment (and fandoms) exist. Duh. The way to make things better? Get active in fandoms, and as a panel member said to close out their discussion? “If there’s a fandom that doesn’t have an LGBTQ niche? MAKE ONE.” Sounds good to me.
