*laughs* We did watch him hail cabs and sit in cabs an awful lot, didn't we?
I actually really liked that restaurant scene in the first episode, where the issue of sexuality seemed to be left open. But after the subsequent episodes...I feel as if you can't make (possible) queerness a running joke without demonstrating that someone will actually be allowed to be queer on the show, which didn't seem to be the case here. It's not funny to joke as if everything's fine if it's not really fine, I guess. Maggie
I agree that the open-ended queerness of Sherlock and John could really be a problem in this show, but there is a little bone thrown to the "it's okay to be queer" side in the form of Harry and Clara's offstage presence. Apart from Sherlock's name-based assumption, no comment is made on their sexuality. Of course, we never meet either of them and Harry's a drunk, but they are there.
*nods* I was talking about the "offstage-ness" of queerness with randomalia here the other day. In short, I was saying that the "real" queerness (as opposed to throwaway characters or throwaway lines) is unseen or unspoken in the series. It's a step forward that it's even hinted at, I suppose. We'll see what happens with the next series! M.
I will say that Moffat's left it very open that Sherlock's probably homosexual, his comment was John isn't his type.
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I actually really liked that restaurant scene in the first episode, where the issue of sexuality seemed to be left open. But after the subsequent episodes...I feel as if you can't make (possible) queerness a running joke without demonstrating that someone will actually be allowed to be queer on the show, which didn't seem to be the case here. It's not funny to joke as if everything's fine if it's not really fine, I guess. Maggie
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I would say that Sherlock reads as pretty explicitly asexual, and it's highly likely that he's homoromantic. Queer enough, yeah?
The desexualization of queer people is a clear problem, but even in literary canon Holmes presents as asexual, and that's valid too.
A truly great and incisive post though, thank you very much. :)
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