[ SECRET POST #3635 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3635 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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06. [SPOILERS for Westworld]



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07. [SPOILERS for Westworld]



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08. [SPOILERS for Pokemon Sun and Moon]



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09. [SPOILERS for Supernatural]















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #519.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

02. http://i.imgur.com/rS94vgY.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

I view her as bi as well and honestly I don't feel bad about it because she's FICTIONAL therefor she really wasn't identifying herself but more likely a bunch of writers who maybe didn't even think about the bisexual label decided to label her as a lesbian.

I know lesbians often date men especially before they figure themselves out but we had a pretty intimate look at Willow's life and I just really believe she loved Oz, Xander and hell even her crush on Giles was very real.

[(Anonymous)]

She will always be bi in my mind, OP!

[atalantapendrag]

Actual people can identify how they want, and it's shitty to question them. People writing based on their own experiences generally know what they're talking about, so they deserve respect.

A fictional non-straight female character created by a (AFAIK) straight guy is absolutely open to analysis and questioning.

Willow identifying as a lesbian isn't all that far-fetched though. A real person with her history might do that for a while or for good, even if they had been involved with men before. And at the time, it was absolutely awesome.

Twenty years later, though, I'd like some bi/pan representation (beyond "I don't like labels").

[diet_poison]

Hey, if she helped you, that's great! The wonderful thing about fictional characters is it hurts no one for you to interpret their sexuality however you like :)

[(Anonymous)]

What everyone else has already said.

But also I don't feel the need to apply today's youth's ideals onto a fictional character twenty years after the fact. I lived that time and well remember how homosexuality was viewed in general and in particular in media. Having a gay character was far more daring and progressive than most people are willing to admit. Having a bisexual character would have been a step too far. Heads would have rolled and nearly did anyway with having a gay character. People were convinced it was the Gay Agenda Indoctrinating Children and some parents even refused to believe their kid coming out to them was gay or bi because it had to be That Liberal Gay Agenda Show and their kid being brainwashed by it. People in denial will do and say and believe the most terrible and ridiculous things to maintain the integrity of their denial.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah this is good to bring up because for some reason in the 90s/early 2000s you could put a gay character on tv but for some reason getting a bisexual person, especially as a main character, just did not occur.

Bisexual erasure was/is a thing.

[(Anonymous)]

[lj]scarfman

Bisexual erasure (combined with the fact that she's fiction, not a real person making real statements about her real identity for herself) is exactly why I don't feel bad for identifying Willow as bisexual. There was insufficient onscreen development to deny that she is bi, and part of that is erasure both out-text and in-text. Chances are good that someone of Willow's time, place and station just doesn't have any referents to identify herself as bisexual even if she is. I cartooned about this here (http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/baaq.htm).

[feotakahari]

Hey, I was reading about your comic on TV Tropes today! I didn't know you posted here.

[arcadiaego]

The channel that showed Buffy here used to edit the Willow/Tara scenes and only show the full versions in a late night repeat.

[belladonna_took]

There was some lazy writing in that, I think. She suffers a bit from not being the main character. We only see glimpses of what she's thinking and feeling. It's consistent with her character that she wants to only experience positive emotions, so I can kind of see why she might not want to date men after Oz hurt her. She sees Tara and maybe women in general as the safer or simpler option.

[erinptah]

I know lesbians as well as bi women who see themselves in Willow's history. Given that she's fictional, it's hard to see anything wrong with lots of different people being able to identify with her.

As long as you aren't out yelling at other fans, in the vein of "how DARE you think of her as [bi/lesbian], it's PHOBIC HATEFUL ERASURE if you don't share my personal interpretation that she's really [lesbian/bi]", I think you're good.

[(Anonymous)]

Same, OP. I couldn't buy the lesbian thing because her relationship with Oz seemed so very genuine rather than just a thing she was doing because it was expected that she would date men. As a bisexual woman myself, I could identify very much with that.

[(Anonymous)]

I can see why this is anonymous. Tumblr is currently bickering over the sexuality of the fucking moon.

[(Anonymous)]

I've seen people argue about Willow's sexuality everywhere even pre-tumblr. This is actually the most reasonable I've seen people be with the subject since everyone is acknowledging she is fictional.

[nanslice]

What???

[(Anonymous)]

search for "moon discourse," or preferably, don't search for "moon discourse" because the whole situation is spectacularly stupid.

[(Anonymous)]

...what the fuck did I just read...

[arcadiaego]

This is somehow going to be about warring pagan factions, isn't it.

[(Anonymous)]

Willow is bisexual in my eyes. I thought she and Oz made a good couple!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm about the same age as her and I know a lot of women who first dated guys, then dated girls and identified as lesbians. About half of these ended up settling on bisexual. But we don't get to see Willow past then, so I think either choice is in character.

[tree_and_leaf]

Yeah, my head canon is that Willow would wind up identifying as bi - but it's plausible that given her context at the time of canon, that she'd have called herself a lesbian.

[(Anonymous)]

I see her as Bi too, OP
I get you though because I was attacked and called homophobic by this crazy person over twitter because I don't headcanon a character as a lesbian, and expressed the opinion that if she were to like girls too in future (so far, she has only dated and showed interest for male characters including her current boyfriend), she'd be bisexual.
The more I'm into fandoms the more I feel like some people like to pretend their fannish opinions are LGBT+ activism but they should really educate themselves about LGBT+ people.

[arcadiaego]

When I was younger I was quite cross about the show not going with the word 'bisexual' but these days I feel differently about it, having met more people who identify as lesbian despite having been in love with men previously. It's not an egregious example of bi-erasure like some fictional characters where the writers waffle on about how it's 'not about labels, it's the person!' ...yeah, but isn't it a coincidence how you're fine using *other* labels?

Anyway. I'm Ok with accepting Willow self-defines as a lesbian and also acknowledging and being thankful that her storyline helped me understand my bi identity.