Stereotypes: Why does everything have to be gay?

Growing up in the wonderful, complex world of the internet, I was exposed to queer comics and entertainment at a young age. But not necessarily in the most positive light. There was always a slew of comments on youtube videos or online comic forums that complained about the "political correctness bullshit" that was being "pushed." My favorite of those complaints was "Why does everything have to be so gay?" 

Because it effected me. A lot. I didn't understand my sexuality growing up, so once I saw the negative criticism and jokes that gay people were faced with online, I began to form a lot of internal homophobia. I would laugh at people who were striving for sexual and gender equality because everyone else was laughing at it.

But it wasn't just internet trolls that fed this bad behavior. Movies, TV shows, video games, and even comic books would have overly flamboyant male characters, or hyper-butch female characters, as a joke. As I grew older and came out, I realized how many negative stereotypes are out there.

I started seeing less and less of myself in my favorite childhood characters and superheroes, and I rarely had anything to relate to until I found webcomics and modern comics that do have LGBT+ heroes (like Iceman in X-Men or America Chavez). 

To answer the question: no, stereotypes are not necessary. The only time I believe stereotypes are okay are when the marginalized groups are making fun of the quirks they see in themselves and their own communities. And even that I wouldn't call stereotyping, more of a critique or satire on one's own experiences within their specified groups. As a gay guy, I'm always joking about how gay I am, and I love participating in queer media that's made by queer people. From a writing POV, when queer entertainment is written by a straight person, even if they have the best intentions for representation, something will always seem fetishized, accidentally stereotypical, or offensive. 

I've kind of made it my own personal vendetta to make sure that everything I write is about queer people, has queer people, or relates to queer media in some way. There's the whole conversation of whether diversity is killing the comics industry or saving it, and I think it's what's keeping comics from dwindling out. I love seeing myself in queer-coded characters like America Chavez, Iceman, and Snotgirl. People have flocked to comics as a way to escape from themselves, yet see a part of themselves reflected in what they're reading. I believe moving away from stereotypes and heading towards diverse representation is the way to get more people interested in comics.

So I think that comics like March, that show the historical aspect of racism and stereotyping, are important. But also comics that show change and break down stereotypes through fiction are equally as important.