User blog comment:Sparkstoaflame/The Blog Post/@comment-28398720-20160607205456/@comment-16845200-20160608020320

if you find this post dogmatic, i will kindly invite you to look at all the links i have listed in the last section. you take issue with how i express my problems with how half the entire fandom is treating this issue, fine. but i strongly suggest that you go ahead and read the articles i've listed from what i'm sure you will find as much more reputable sources.

representation, which isn't always possible, isn't everything

i'm going to stop you right there and say that this mentality is exactly the issue with 90% of media consumption today. "representation isn't always possible???" really? is is really that hard to include poc characters in your show and, for that matter, treat them in a manner that isn't obviously and ridiculously racially charged? is it really that hard to include lgbt* characters in your show and not kill them for the sake of being bait and a contrived plot device???

is it really?

and "representation isn't everything?"

oh, but it can be.

[...] But this is why it’s important for media creators to consider the cultural context and to think through all the implications of what they’re writing. Because had you considered the context, you would have realized that LGBT individuals, particularly lesbians, have a long history of media creators continually ripping away the few characters they care about by burying them (hey! that’s the name of the trope!). [...]

"If you think “no one is safe” is something deep and interesting, then to each their own. You can certainly write a show exploring that, as you have. But guess what? That doesn’t give you carte blanche to not give a shit about your audience. The empathetic reactions of your viewers need to be taken into consideration, especially when you have so many young, LGBT or questioning individuals watching and getting involved in this relationship. Not to mention, by many accounts, these were viewers that you bent over backwards to get invested, whether extending invites to your set, or promoting (and maybe leaking?) f/f content [...]"

"[...] You cannot imagine having characters that can maybe be counted on one hand (if you’re lucky…I have one finger) who are possible to relate to. And you really can’t imagine what that feels like when it is cruelly torn away."

"I’m also wondering if you realize how many LGBT individuals use media as a form of escapism. A lot of us have terrible anxiety, or struggle with depression, or whatever else the result of this toxically homophobic society yields. Make no mistake, gay marriage might now be legal in the States, but not a single day has gone by since I came out seven years ago where I’ve been allowed to forget my sexuality. That’s what it means to be marginalized. [...]"

"Learn what it feels like to be the 20-year-old lesbian who hasn’t been able to sleep more than three hours this past week. Learn what it feels like to be the 16-year-old questioning student that had to leave school the day after it aired due to panic attacks. I’ve certainly had to talk to both of them, along with others, because of how badly they were hurt by your show. And if this sounds like an overreaction to you, then all I can say is you are very lucky that you’ve never needed to put so much stock in a single character, because you are represented elsewhere."

"We don’t all have that luxury."