Welcome back to Unorthodox Catwalk. As an openly gay man, I’m not going to pretend I’ve never been offended by misrepresentation in entertainment media.
To preface, I am only speaking on MLM (Men loving Men) couples because that is the media I mainly consume. I’m solely speaking based on my own experiences, and don’t want to speak for the other communities in our LGBTQ+ family.
Misrepresentation is prevalent, and has been since the beginning of fictional media. Writing about the queer experience from outside perspectives is hard, and a lot of directors, artists and authors struggle with the difference between offensive and respectful.
In this day and age, when the current administration is banning media left and right, such as the National Book Ban, representation and defiance against this ban is more important than ever.
My favorite and least favorite MLM representation spans across books, shows, movies and more. Here are just a few of them.
Good Representation:
Mickey and Ian: Shameless
Mickey and Ian may be a shocking choice to some of you, but you haven’t heard my explanation yet. I may be a little biased, as they are my favorite couple on this list. Although they are so full of mayhem, and rough around the edges, these two yanked my heart out of my chest throughout the show multiple times across all seasons.
Mickey and Ian gave me an introduction to the unconventional relationship a messy queer relationship can have. The back and forth dynamic, the yearning, the chaos of it all.
Mickey is a rugged, dirty, problematic man. He loves Ian, but his traumatic upbringing brings in constant barriers in their love and relationship.
Ian is an emotional loverboy who is also willing to fight for him and Mickey’s relationship, as well as his own passions. They are both never afraid to get involved in whatever issue is going down on the southside of Chicago.
They are similar in ways of stupid, impulsive decisions and toxicity.
My favorite aspect of this representation is that it’s real. It never strays from the fact that homophobia, along with generational trauma and a tough upbringing, isn’t just sunshine and rainbows.
Shameless does a great job of weaving in and out of queer joy and queer affliction. Queer relationships are emotionally painful, intricate and come with so many layers. Some people believe that that’s a negative, and it reflects in current media.
Not The Best Representation
Nick and Charlie: Heartstopper
Yes, yes, I know, we all love this show. I can agree with that. I do love this show, I just want more. Season three gave me that, but seasons one and two? No, not really. Not everyone finds a masculine, straight rugby player and falls in love. That’s my problem with Heartstopper.
Season three brought me what I wanted. It wasn’t shallow, but it took so long to get there. It takes time to develop depth within characters, but I felt it was simply too much time, and it was too YA for me.
It was too perfect, and doesn’t feel like a fair representation of actual queer teenagers. Not everybody has a supportive queer circle of friends, or can find love at the snap of a finger. It sets unreal expectations.
Good Representation:
Henry and Alex: Red, White, and Royal Blue
I carry a lot of love for these two. It’s such a great mix of fun, but also intimacy.
I am obsessed with the ridiculousness of them toppling over a wedding cake, to the reality of a closeted prince, in which he is trapped with the pressure of the title, while being in love with the United States President’s Son, Alex.
Henry is a proper boy, while Alex’s life is a living dream of partying and drinking. The pure emotion they carry for each other is a gift in which you can’t fake no matter how proper or prim you carry yourself.
The representation is so real in this story, because it reflects the truth that even though MLM relationships have extreme hardships, they still reflect pure joy, while remaining intricate.
Alex and Henry go through emotional turmoil, while clever or witty insults still interject at tasteful times (cough, cough, heartstopper, distasteful).
I loved the book and the movie. It’s one of the rare cases where I was just as obsessed with both forms of media.
Finishing Thoughts
I won’t stop interacting with queer media, as it is so important in a time like now, with people trying to constantly silence our voices.
We won’t stop watching, reading or talking about queer people, fictional and non-fictional.
