I tend to think that this is actually a result of how he's written, to be honest. He is "sassy" and he is positioned to be the Inquisitor's friend, moreso than just about any other companion (like Varric is clearly meant to be Hawke's buddy- Dorian just seems to care more about what the Inquisitor goes through).
This isn't to say that this criticism isn't valid- he does get shoved into the "prop for f!Inquisitor/m!LI romance" role quite a bit, but I've seen people criticized for mentioning his friendship with the female Inquisitor at all, which is patently ridiculous. Plus, people get shitty whenever he's depicted as openly admiring another male character claiming that he would never, when he does in game.
Ultimately, I tend to think that he gets mischaracterized from several directions both by people who simplify his character and those who want to obsessively protect him from "str8 fangirls".
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This isn't to say that this criticism isn't valid- he does get shoved into the "prop for f!Inquisitor/m!LI romance" role quite a bit, but I've seen people criticized for mentioning his friendship with the female Inquisitor at all, which is patently ridiculous. Plus, people get shitty whenever he's depicted as openly admiring another male character claiming that he would never, when he does in game.
Ultimately, I tend to think that he gets mischaracterized from several directions both by people who simplify his character and those who want to obsessively protect him from "str8 fangirls".