FFFFEEEEEAAAAttttt rrrrreeee
In the 20th century, the inverse of this was The stereotyping seen in the 20th century is true, in that gay-coded villains were often something we have to continue to combat. aligned with sexual deviance, murder, and Many queer-coded characters in mainstream mental illness and thus queer people were also film, stage, and television at the time were seen as villains by the public in real life.
written by people not part of the community
Graphics by New Now Next and who used those characters as plot devices, comic relief, or gags. These characters couldn’tbe called canonically queer due to YouTuber Rowan Ellis points out that many villains or antagonists in the 20th century were queer-coded or queer-inspired.
censorship, so filmmakers used visual shorthand like hyperfemininity in men or notes of masculinity in women that eventually turned into the stereotypes we know today. Because of this early establishment of queer characters’ roles, the standard of what queer characters ought to look like and what stories they ought to have was inadvertently set. British YouTuber Rowan Ellis explains that more
Queer representation allows creators, both part of the community and not, to better explore and tell stories about queer characters and fight the mold, empowering queer creators to tell their stories their own way, in a way that speaks to them and their audience.
Allowing works to strike a chord with one’s audience is the ultimate goal in the end. There is no greater thing in the world than to be seen and recognized. On growing up without queer expressions of love and identity on television, gay actor T.R. Knight recounts his experience, saying, “You feel starved, and you feel lonely. … It ain’t [sic] healthy.” Proper representation allows audiences to identify with these stories and enables audience members to realize new truths about themselves in a comfortable, accepting way.