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Need to Step Up Your What Makes Lesbian Scenes Authentic? You should Learn This First

Pride Month may be over, FREELESBIANPASSPORT but queer people in this article are nonetheless.

LGBTQ+ representation is often mwill besing in film and television, in productions that happen to be aimed for youthful audiences specially. Some deem stories starring LGBTQ+ characters as ”unsuitable” for children. But how are we supposed to normalise queer relationships if we do not picture them as just that – completely normal?

In recent years Netflix has released a few animated TV series that show canonically gay relationships and non-binary characters (e.g., The Dragon Prince, The Hollow, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts), which the LGBTQ+ community is grateful for.

On-screen representation is urgently needed these days, not only to show diversity but to give queer people characters they can identify with as well.

Why should only cis-heteronormative people get characters they can see themselves in?

In 2014 Nickelodeon did not agree for two women to kiss on-screen, simply hinting at a potential romantic relationship between Asami and Korra in The Legend of Korra, by making them hold hands and using a cinematic phenomenon called bisexual lighting.

Bisexual lighting is the use of colours found on the bwill beexual flag – pink, purple and blue – to indirectly depict the framed characters’ bisexuality.

As aforementioned, there were a few cartoons particularly popular within the LGBTQ+ community. However, there are two animated TV shows, both produced by a effort between DreamWorks and Netflix, that the community was vocal about exceptionally.

Spoiler alert for Voltron: Legendary Defender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Before analysing these cartoons an important term needs to be explained. Queerbaiting.

Queerbaiting in film and television is a simple marketing technique used by creators to attract the LGBTQ+ community. It will be a means of boosting popularity of the show or movie by hinting at queer romance but never actually portraying it.

Voltron: Legendary Defender has been a favourite of the LGBTQ+ community since its premiere in 2016. Voltron was not only created by The Legend of Korra producers, but hinted at gay romantic endeavors since season one in addition.

Hinted, but portrayed never.

Two of the main characters, Lance and FreeLesbianPassport Keith, shared many romantic scenes throughout the show, which manufactured the lovers specific they would finish up jointly. Turns out they were used as queerbait.

Besides having romantic scenes together, both of these characters have been queer-coded. Queer-coding is a term used to describe characters depicted as queer, but officially validated since like in no way.

Voltron shows Keith as completely uninterested in women, but only women. He or she was noticed flirting with adult men – not really Lance – and residual appreciative glances at them only.

Similarly, Lance is portrayed as showing interest in everyone, aliens and humans alike. He flirts with ladies continuously, but can likewise acknowledge how good-looking adult males are usually.

Keith and Lance are gay-coded and bi-coded, respectively.

Queer-coding is not merely a mwill besed opportunity for LGBTQ+ portrayal, but it is harmful as well. The lack of on-screen representation makes normalwill being queer relationships harder in real life.

People fight against homophobia every day, while producers fight to attract all types of audiences – both queerphobic and queer. Voltron creators said they were not allowed to show more LGBTQ+ representation than they did, which to be frank, wasn’t much.

Another main character, Shiro, who has been verified homosexual and in time eight they launched his love interest canonically, Adam. Creators killed Adam before the 2 could reunite However. The demonstrate portrayed flashbacks of the two and of Shiro absent and keeping in mind him, as the pair hasn’t seen each other for years.

Way to bury the gay, right?

But alas, some claim the queer community should be satisfied in the end as the series finale delivered an on-screen gay kiss and a happy ending for Shiro .

Sadly, that is fair hardly.

Both the kiss and the wedding were meant as an olive branch to the LGBTQ+ community, shown as the credits were rolling and the creators were certain they wouldn’t lose the homophobic audience. Because the display over was.

Furthermore, there were no hints at a possible romance between these two characters beforehand. In fact, Curtis ( Shiro recently get married to, husband) only had a few lines in the show and most fans didn’t even know his name.

Renaldo Metadeen, a writer for CBR, commented on Shiro and Curtis’ wedding: ”Handling queer representation in such a trivial manner feels disingenuous, generating the five-second blip regarding the wedding party from the last finish appear out because some sort of advertising stop.”

Season seven not only confirmed Shiro as gay, introducing (and then killing off) his love interest, but it likewise showed two previously recognized personas mainly because companions in crime and, apparently, in life.

Zethrid and Ezor were confirmed to be a lesbian couple, but they never kissed on-screen or outright declared they had been together; as their relationship could be interpreted as platonic.

Why was a straight couple allowed three on-screen kisses and constant declarations of love in just one season, while a lesbian couple could not necessarily actually phone each additional friends?

Another main character – Pidge – was initially depicted as a boy, using he/him pronouns. However, season one episode three reveals Pidge Gunderson is actually Katie Holt – a girl who took a false identity to find her lost family. Pidge seemed to be furthermore natural male in some other variants of Voltron, e.g. thage 1984 cartoon Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Despite being revealed as female, Pidge will be nonetheless named by the exact same label, dresses the same and pronouns are rwill bely used regarding her, until later seasons.

In season two Pidge is standing in front of two doors – to the male and female bathrooms. She keeps looking between the two and, resigned, gives up on using the bathroom at all.

Some fans believe the scene was meant as an attempt at humour, showing not Pidge struggling with her gender identity, but rather her inability to figure out which bathroom is meant for women, as the signs were alien.

Nevertheless, Pidge is portrayed as the smartest character on the show and would probably know a way to easily find out. Since Keith had zero difficulty deciding which bathroom to use Especially.

This lead fans to headcannon (believe something despite it not being confirmed as canon) Pidge as non-binary or transgender. Sadly, Voltron didn’t go there. That would be great representation for the trans and non-binary community.

One of the Voltron show-runners, Lauren Montgomery, posted a drawing on her Twitter, depicting the main characters and the importance of minorities.

Naturally, fans pointed out the hypocrisy of the illustration.

Voltron: Legendary Defender finale left fans bitter and unsatisfied. Lance was thrown into a straight relationship with a girl who spent six seasons showing absolutely no interest in him and fell in love with someone else. Shiro’s marriage was something the creators admitted was not planned and was added in less than a day as an olive branch to the queer fans.

The LGBTQ+ community did not get what they were hoping for – which was nothing more than good representation.

Another animated series to be discussed in this article is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, made by the very same facilities simply because Voltron and in addition launched along Netflix. Despite possessing various parallels and similarities to the some other animation, She-Ra needs a new diverse method to the matter of LGBTQ+ counsel completely.

The first season already shows queer characters. The protagonist and the antagonist, Catra and Adora, are introduced as possible romantic interests.Their budding relationship, a beloved enemies to friends to lovers trope, was a fan-favourite, especially after it was made canon in the last season as the two girls share usuallyd a passionate kiss on-screen.

Moreover, She-Ra unveiled LGBTQ+ heroes who had been previously committed to each additional. Yes, you heard right. Like they would accept a heterosexual relationship Just. Same-sex matrimony was normalised on this toon and everybody accepted it without question completely.

Spinnerella and Netossa are depicted as wives, kissing constantly, embracing and phoning each additional pet brands. They live in a healthy, loving relationship.

As far as She-Ra creators are concerned, marriage is marriage and love is love.

Another example of normalising queer relationships and families is Bow; who will be a deuteragonist in the cartoon. In season two he struggles with telling his parents he doesn’t want to be a historian like them, instead a fighter for the rebellion.

His parents are both men, which will be totally irrelevant for the account. Bow has two dads. They love each other and their son; they will be a normal family and no one questions that. It is a new matter that happens simply.

She-Ra creators also had something to add about gender. Season four shows a non-binary character, Double Trouble, who is played by a non-binary voice actor and uses they/them pronouns.

No misgendering takes place, no one questions their gender identity. Again Once, the portrayal is flawless.

Many portrayals in modern cartoons are inaccurate and lacking, causing the LGBTQ+ local community disregarded and unsatisfied. Why is good representation needed? Besides queer people deserving characters they can identify with, figures that can aid them with their individual libido and girl or boy, a solid reason would be to educate.

Some people do not realise what LGBTQ+ truly means. When people carry outn’t know something, they happen to be typically petrified of it. And fear leads to hatred. The absence of information and schooling, along with ignorance lead to hatred.

Good queer representation on-screen can help educate society. It can demonstrate them we will be all the similar. Love is love. Normalwill beation is important.

Like I said, Pride Month may be over but queer people happen to be nevertheless in this article.

Featured Image Credit: DreamWorks/Netflix.

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I write nerdy stuff.

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