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The Importance of Better LGBTQ+ Representation
As great strides have been made for LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance, one of the markers that is most visible to the average person has been media representation. Over the last 20 years, examples of LGBTQ+ relationships have been becoming more frequent and positive. While there has also been a growth in the diversity of expression, the majority of examples are gay and lesbian couples.
This is understandable, given that they are more explicit representations that leave very little ambiguity. Further, in a world where the vast majority of relationships reflect the dominant heteronormative “man and woman” dynamic, it is an explicit portrayal of queerness. This is important and good. That being said, LGBTQ+ representation still faces a crisis of diversity. Many factors contribute to this- more than we can get into in great detail here. However, there is a subtle problem that I only recently began to recognize and all too commonly gets overlooked: the centering of explicitly queer-presenting relationships as a measure of queerness.
What do I mean by “queer-presenting relationships”? It refers to relationships that can be quickly/easily identified as being queer, such as two men in a clearly romantic/sexual/intimate relationship. Again, these relationships are in no way bad and their representation matters significantly. The problem, though…