OK for starters, LGBTQ+ includes a vast array of identities, including but not limited to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, aromantic, demisexual, pansexual, non-binary… So the idea that anyone could ever suggest that we could have enough representation when I have never, in all my time spent on the internet, come across a fully out and proud asexual or aromantic (besides that one small side character in Sex Education, that show is really representation at its finest) as a main character with their own character arc is ludicrous.
But beyond that, let’s explain and understand the argument that some are making for over-representation, shall we? To begin with, most of what those who argue against representation for LGBTQ+ can be summarized into this: LGBTQ+ people are a minority, so their representation should reflect their population proportion. Proportional diversity.
In theory, that sounds about right. Film is meant to mirror real life, is it not, and in real life, the likelihood of you running in a member of the LGBTQ+ community is proportionally lower than the chances of you running into a heterosexual person, simply because LGBTQ+ people are, in the political and literal meaning of the word, a minority.
But the one big catch, the one big assumption here, is that film is supposed to mirror real life.
Is film really meant to mirror real life? Film is in reality, a snapshot of a character’s life, and generally speaking, we join the character when they are in an interesting situation. Would you really like to see, say, Frodo just going about his day saying hello to all his Shire companions, or would you rather see him go on a trip to destroy the One Ring and save Middle Earth? Film is picking up a story right when things are about to get interesting, showing that story, and then leaving the characters to go back to their more mundane existence outside of the story. Cinderella doesn’t spend two hours cataloging Cinderella sweeping the floors, The Devil Wears Prada doesn’t spend hours showing us Miranda at her job and Andy at her job (even though she was there for six months). Instead, film picks and chooses the parts of a story that convey a story, the most essential and the most surprising part, all to convey characters and a plot that needs to have a beginning, middle, and end in around 2 hours.
So does film mirror real life? In some ways, yes. Film shows people going about their everyday lives, albeit with more interesting twists, and film shows people interacting with each other and struggling with their lives. But film is not real life. If you want real life, you watch a documentary, and even that is usually about the most interesting part of a person’s life.
Film makes us reflect on real life, yes. But film is not a mirror to real life. Film is an extension. A utopia, of some sorts, because in film we can see and do things that we might not even be able to imagine in real life (Star Wars, anyone?).
And if film and media are really meant to mirror real life, then shows with all white ensembles (looking at you, Vampire Diaries) should not exist. Period. And yet they do. Why is that? Because at its core, what these people are arguing when they say the amount of LGBTQ+ representation is overrepresentation because it surpasses the amount of LGBTQ+ proportions in the population is homophobia. It is essentially the same argument as the “gay agenda” argument. No guys, having Elsa be gay does not mean that kids who watch Frozen will turn gay. Trust me, I was gay long before I saw her sparkly dress. Now, what will turn me gay is implied gay characters like Lou Miller in Ocean’s Eight and Holtzmann in Ghosterbusters: Answer the Call.
Oh, and that brings me to my second point.
Representation doesn’t just depend on quantity, though that is also important. No, representation also depends on quality. And god, don’t even get me started on the quality of representation of LGBTQ+ people in the media.
Whether that’s implied romance like Ocean’s Eight or Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (there is literally one deleted scene when Holtzmann points at Erin Gilbert and says “she’s my girlfriend” and you’re telling me that they decided to imply she was gay??), or implied asexuality like in Good Omens (I’m not saying I hate the show. In fact, I think the show is one of the best adaptations of a book I’ve ever watched. I’m just saying that Neil Gaiman can say as much as he want that Crawley and Aziraphale are a love story, but I need asexual representation and the fact that this implied romance is the best I’ve got is sad and speaks volumes about the quality of representation), LGBTQ+ audiences have too long relied on reading between the lines to try and glimpse at any sort of representation for ourselves.
And don’t even get me started on minorities who are LGBTQ+. The only recent memory I have of a queer and Asian character is the main character in The Half of It, and that story wasn’t even a happy ending. And for other racial minorities: Phastos remains the first Disney character who is openly gay and has a leading role regardless of his sexuality in Eternals. Valkyrie was supposed to be bisexual, and instead of letting her be her bi queen self, the scene that stated she was bisexual was removed from Thor: Love and Thunder before it premiered. Great. Bisexuals need representation too, you know. Just because we dip in both sides of the pond doesn’t mean we don’t deserve to be validated, and whenever I think about characters like Maureen Johnson in Rent being our only representation I would like to punch the world in the face (no hate to Idina Menzel or the musical though; I love that musical with my entire being).
And honestly, the day when straight and whitewashing are no longer terms that can be applied to the current zeitgeist is the day when I can truly wash my hands of having to defend my people’s wishes to see members of our community on screen (I haven’t even gotten started in whitewashing yet, but is it weird that in the middle of an Asian country you have a white woman leading the sect of magic? Asking for a friend who hasn’t seen Doctor Strange).
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how some people continue to think of LGBTQ+ experiences and portrayals as niche. Dude, niche is something that not everyone can relate to. Niche is like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, like The Addams Family, like The Man Who Fell From Space. There is absolutely nothing niche about falling in love and the uncertainties that come with that. Unless you have never loved in your life (platonically or romantically), I find it hard to believe that you would find a film like The Handmaid to be niche. What is niche about the uncertainty if the person you love loves you back? What is niche about being happy and wanting to continue to be happy, wanting to be near someone who makes you happy? And with the way American films are shot, (Americans are so prudish when it comes to sex, and yes I can say that because I am American) you wouldn’t even see the thing that separates homosexual and heterosexual couples the most: the way we have sex. So tell me, what is niche about a love story?
The best films always, always resonate with their audience. Moonlight is a story about being gay, yes, but it’s also a story about being black, being a man, and growing up. The same goes for Call Me By Your Name, except instead of being black, it’s about being Jewish and young. Blue is the Warmest Color is about being lesbian, yes, but it’s also about insecurity and love, and growing apart from one another and betrayal, and love. The nichest thing about Blue is the Warmest Color is probably blue hair, because that color does not look good on just anyone. Gia is about drugs, about the model industry, about the short attention span of people, and also about love. Love. The common thread amongst all LGBTQ+ representation is love. Why? Because that is what it means to be homosexual, to be heterosexual, to be any person on the spectrum of sexualities. Love. The opportunity to love who you want to when you want to.
Sure, LGBTQ+ films often come with myriad of feelings that come from being afraid of being outed. Carol wouldn’t be Carol if there wasn’t the looming threat of criminalization in 1950s New York, Brokeback Mountain wouldn’t be Brokeback Mountain if there wasn’t the looming threat of the wives finding out, but even that is relatable. We all live in a society that expects us to be certain ways based on our appearance, our social and economic class, our age, and we all have things that are different from those expectations that we might not want people to find out. The consequences of people finding out that I read fanfiction aren’t nearly as damning as the consequences of people finding out about Carol and Therese, but there are consequences and fear nonetheless.
The truth is, the best way to connect with a wide audience is actually the easiest: make your story about one person. According to Chris Knight in a review of Moonlight for the National Post, this is “because individuality is, ironically, the one thing we all have in common.” So when the story is focused on a gay character, on a queer character, it isn’t niche, because at the end of the day, what we identify with doesn’t take away from the fact that we are all, at our core, human, and as much as we would like to be unique and different, the human experience is similar enough that your story will resonate with a group of people regardless of whether or not they identify with you in terms of being a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The next time someone says, “It seems like everywhere we turn there are gay characters now,” in a mildly condescending way, turn to them and tell them that guess what, until the day I can shut up about my people and people are no longer commenting on the fact that there are these many characters who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, there will never be enough gay characters. After all, we in the LGBTQ+ community never turn and say “it seems like there are straight characters everywhere these days, huh?”
In other words, or in the words of the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg (first American justice to ever officiate a same-sex marriage, icon, and boss), “I’m sometimes asked when there will be enough (women on the Supreme Court)? And I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”
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