This whole discussion started because I made a post about it. I couldn't even celebrate the fact without people going "actually, I feel it's forced". I'm simply tired of straight people acting like they know what the LGBT community wants or needs. This page alone proves what I'm saying considering the first thing ya'll think is "it's pandering" and that there needs some sort of "naturally geling up" for minorities to be included.
People just ****ing exist, the confirmation that they exist should not spark a debate over whether or not their inclusion is forced or not. Just let us have this for once, I just want to be able to have gay characters without having to defend them like I'm in some ***-backwards place.
The issue, I think, is that sexuality tends to be (or at least
appears to be) something of an after-thought for writers unless that is what they're specifically going for (and that's pretty rare in mainstream media).
To create an example, I was trying to think of characters in pop culture who weren't established as Gay until after the fact, and I was hard pressed to think of any. I can think of characters like Dumbledore or Tracer, but they were established as gay
after being revealed (Tracer a lot sooner in production than Dumbledore, to be fair).
I can't remember if Kate Kane (Batwoman) was revealed as Gay after she debuted (there was, at least, a definitively straight version of her prior to the modern incarnation, but that's a different character in a different universe), but Renee Montoya was
definitely established as Gay after she was a character for years.
The generous interpretation is that they're establishing the character first so people will accept their sexuality more freely, which depending on point of view speaks ill of society as a whole (that such a thing is necessary, or perceived to be necessary), but sometimes it doesn't feel that way, usually because tabloids tend to blow up about it, which makes what might be a genuine attempt at creating depth seem artificial.
The point I'm trying to make is that I want there to be non-straight characters in fiction without people making a big deal out of it too, coming from the other side as a straight person.
Note: While writing this post, I thought of some characters who were quickly established as non-straight, Harley Quinn (albeit by implication), Undyne and Alphys.
EDIT: Also, the Crystal Gems of Steven Universe, I can't believe I forgot Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl and Rose.
I never mentioned punishing people for past views, only not to excuse those past views. Especially since there are indeed people in the past and present that have the same views that they did in the past. Just because a view in the past was popular doesn't mean it was good, just because a view now is popular doesn't mean it's good. Don't excuse the past just because it's the past, it needs to be evaluated rather than brushed off.
I think we're mostly in agreement then, on this front.
The normalization of something really depends on culture. You wouldn't need to go through the process of those caricatures if you didn't have a culture that demonized homosexuality in the first place.
It's unfortunate that people had to do what is effectively damage control in the 60s-90s because of things that happened in 1800s-1950s, but that's what I meant when I said such things were "necessary".
Firstly the idea of the "LGBT community" is such a silly concept really. Especially since we can be divided as much as we are united. I sure as heck wasn't celebrating 76 coming out, I'm not familiar with the character.
I'm not really familiar with the character either, the first I had heard of it was the comic posted a page ago.
But you're right, there's no such thing as the "LGBT Community", just like there's no such thing as a "Straight Community" (now, race, that's a little more complicated, even then, they aren't one big homogeneous hivemind).
[QUOTE}It's ironic because them being treated as normal is what's considered special. You don't achieve normalization by "being normal" when people and the law itself don't see your sexuality as something of normality.
Honestly, when people say "the gays should just act normal and people would accept them", it's just another form of saying go hide in the closet.[/QUOTE]
I think you're thinking of the point I was making backwards.
I didn't mean "Gay people should act normal (straight)", what I meant was "Straight people should stop acting like non-straight people are abnormal".