Reflection and Analysis

Fandom: Rabid Yaoi Fangirls

Rabid Yaoi Fangirl: The show needs to add my OTP because LGBT characters are underrepresented in entertainment media.

In reality, though, the LGBT is actually over-represented. Recent studies show the number of LGBT characters in a series is around 4.5 to 5% of the characters when in the United States the actual LGBT population is only around 3.5 to 4%. Also overrepresented by about 5% are Blacks and Asians, and the characters which are currently under-represented are Hispanics. Whites are surprisingly represented around the right amount.

Note: A few people may be thinking, but isn't it more like 10 to 20%. Those statistics were the result of faulty research, and none of the polls have produced such numbers. Kinsey's estimates have been thrown out. A good chunk of LGBT is also comprised of people who identify as transgender. Taking those who identify as transgender out, the percent is actually around 2.4%. Transgendered characters are also extremely rare, showing.

Instead of needing more representation, what is needed is a better representation. Most LGBT characters are gay, and all other types are underrepresented. In addition to this, the guys we see are based on the stereotype of gays being effeminate, if not downright nerdy in a way that is best described as cute and endearing. The characters typically don't represent real people with real problems, and their lives are presented as being, unlike the rest of the population, rainbows, and unicorns. Most are background characters as well.

Apparently, though, there is also a rise in the number of lesbians killed off in series, which is portrayed as a negative thing. However, I find myself having to question the numbers when some of these character deaths occurred on shows like The 100 where characters are dying off all the time. I actually couldn't get into the show due to the fact the characters I kept getting attached to kept dying. Character death resulting from the plot going where it needs to go isn't a bad thing.

Understandably people are tired of the push for more representation when there is over-representation, but also the way characters are represented. Speaking up about this results in the person being called a homophobe despite the fact the person does not have a negative attitude towards homosexuality or LGBT people. This isn't to say there isn't a negative attitude, but the attitude is aimed at the fact misrepresentation is going on, both a push to misrepresent the percentage of the population LGBT represents, but also the fact everything is a stereotype.

Even I'm tired of the way things are and have found myself favoring LGBT characters in Anime and Manga. While this Japanese media has been at it longer, they never fell into the traps Western media did regarding LGBT representation. I've found a wider range of representation, but the characters come across as real with real world problems. For example, No. 9 features a reversal of the typical stereotype where the gay character with the effeminate features is the one with the masculine personality, and the bisexual male with the masculine features is the one with the feminine personality. Tokyo Godfathers features a transgender character who is homeless.

This said I did find myself falling in love with One Day at a Time (2017). The creator of the original show actually came on board, and we get to see a real LGBT character facing real problems. She may shirk things like skirts and makeup, but this comes from her discomfort of standing out and her stance against any tradition she's deemed to have come from some misogynist reason. Some of these reasons she comes up with come from the fact she's a teen still learning about the world. She finds she does like some feminine things, and... well, beyond that would be spoilers.

Rabid Yaoi Fangirl: My OTP is going to happen because there are so many homosexual moments between the two.

Many yaoi fangirls will point to the times of Roman Empire as an example, not realizing that they're basing this misconception of theirs on John Boswell's controversial research. If they do know the misconception stems from John Boswell's research, they think this historian is controversial because he is an LGBT historian, but if this is true, why aren't other LGBT historians called controversial as well. No, the controversy comes from the fact he took his historical facts out of context for the time and society.