alex51324:

bisexualjodielandon:

What they say: “I just feel like LGBTQ stuff shouldn’t be shoved down our throats. Stop forcing it in every show and movie.”

What they mean: “No one’s actually forcing me to watch anything. I just don’t expect gay people in shows and movies unless it’s explicitly labeled “LGBTQ”. When gay people appear in something I’m watching outside of that description, it feels like I was tricked into seeing people that I (subconsciously or blatantly) ignore the existence of in real life, and the growing expectation to treat them as equals is actually what I feel is being forced down my throat.“

Now I’m thinking about a middle-grade book I read, The War That Saved My Life, which is about a girl who was evacuated from London, and therefore from her abusive family, in WW2 England.  She was sent to live with a woman who had become a near-recluse after the death of her dear friend and housemate some time before.  They turn out to be just what each other needed; it’s a lovely found-family story that also teaches kids about life in the WW2 homefront.  

Then I went looking to see if I could find out whether the author intentionally queer-coded the relationship between the foster mom and her deceased friend, and found tons of people screeching about having The Gay shoved down their children’s throats in a what’s supposed to be a wholesome historical novel.  

Like, I am an adult queer person who has degrees in literature–I’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to picking up gay subtext–and I wasn’t sure.  But yeah, that’s shoving it down people’s throats; sure.