The Denier
The Denier is the reason why so many writers feel compelled to explicitly state a character's sexuality.
I found some examples by Googling, “Are [characters] gay?” and opening one of the first forum threads on the subject. Here are the resident Deniers, doing their job of... very strangely denying that characters are gay:
"I don't think they're really gay but they're definitely in love with each other."
Problem #1: Deniers apparently don't like the word "gay." What they are describing is the definition of gay. Two people of the same sex being in love.
"Since the creators have never outwardly said the exact relationship between [characters], we can't really make assumptions to anything outside of a really devoted friendship."
Problem #2: If a pair isn’t heterosexual, we require the creators to confirm them as a couple outside of the narrative. Yes, even if they say, “I love you!”
"[Character] isn't human, so their relationship doesn't count as gay."
Problem #3: This one came up in so many of my searches. It's funny how this can be open to debate when the characters are of the same sex, but when there's a mountain of male/female romances in mainstream fiction where one of them isn't human, there's no room for doubt, right?
There are different kinds of Deniers, as well. I've created a list for you to look out for: The Extrapolator (analyzing and interpreting information given by the canon in order to "disprove" a character's sexuality); The Raging Homophobe (ranting about homosexual characters, family values, filthy liberals, and the like); The Subtle Homophobe (generalizing and stereotyping homosexuals to disprove correlation between a character's behaviors and "gay" behavior); The Assertive Heterosexual (constantly ignoring same-sex couples and instead saying that those characters are actually in love with a character of the other sex); The Raving Fanatic (claiming that they know a character better than the creator and that there's no way their precious idol would ever be anything but heterosexual); and many more.
If you want some examples, try reading the comments section of this article about Batman's possible homosexuality. (Although, comparatively, this one is very tame compared to some of the comment sections I've seen about similar topics.)
Additionally, take into consideration the case of the series finale of Avatar: The Legend of Korra. Despite the creator of the series coming out and confirming a same-sex pair as bisexual and now dating, the Deniers continued to deny, on the grounds that “if it isn’t in the show, it isn’t canon.”
There is literally no way to beat the Denier, except to ignore them.
Photo Credit: David Crow
Danielle Murdock-Landry
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Dani always had a penchant for adventure. Her reading was avid to the point of getting her scolded in school, and she began writing once she realized that she had stories to tell too. Writing every day and collaborating with friends across the globe, she has a mind full of worlds that need sharing.