#not all identities are analagous and i'm talking about a specific thing

[anneapocalypse]

"why do you write/headcanon/see this character as bi" because I'm bi and I like them, next question.

"but there's a STEREOTYPE--" listen, the nature of bisexual stereotypes (and probably others, this is just my particular area of knowledge lol) is such that if you try to avoid every single one, you fall into only being allowed a very narrow specific type of bisexual character. And sorry, I'm not about that. I'd rather have a wider variety of bi characters, and that's going to mean that some of them are deviants, criminals, "too sexual," have too many canonical partners or not enough, or end up with a partner of the "wrong" gender at the end.

"well you're bisexual so I guess it's okay if you do it--" oof. listen. I understand the sentiment behind this, I really do. I know how frustrating certain things can be when they become trends. I absolutely get it. at the same time, I think it is important not simply to identify a problem, but to consider what it is we're asking people to do. what course of action are we suggesting. are we suggesting that queer people in fandom MUST out themselves before being allowed to publicly connect with or write about a character? I disagree with that fundamentally. I don't care how accustomed we've become to people including a detailed list of identities in their blog descriptions and social media profiles; that's a choice, not an obligation. no queer person owes you their identity. full stop. I certainly don't owe you mine, even if I've offered it in good faith.

I also think you're allowed to not like someone's headcanons, regardless of their identity. you can totally think their headcanons suck and not want to see them, and in that case I think the best thing to do in fandom (which is a mirror of the wider culture, and does not itself have the widespread cultural influence of mainstream mass media) is to unfollow them and block them. and then create art and stories about characters in the way that you want to see them, and be publicly excited about your ideas and what you've created.

I know that's an imperfect solution. most solutions are. I just don't see any variant of "You can only headcanon X if you're queer" that doesn't just lead to more queer creators getting harassed.