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rhymephile February 9 2013, 08:44:58 UTC
YES. Let us converse about this. *nods*

Okay. I was seriously impressed that for the first time in EIGHT FUCKING YEARS we have a moment in which Dean does not make a face, roll his eyes, or pretend to GAG when another man gets in his space. Like, seriously, the first time. There have been way too many instances of his "Ew, gross, I want to puke because this guy is making eyes at me/getting close to me" face to count. The only notable exception is the Dr. Sexy scene, but that was played for laughs. Opposite end of the spectrum: his gag when confronted by the "Chief" in "Criss Angel is a Douchebag."

When it was happening with Aaron, I kept waiting and waiting for Dean to pull his macho guy routine, to make a face as he walked away or show his physical discomfort, but it didn't happen. And I actually rewound the scene as I was watching because I was amazed that they finally, finally had a scene where another character basically laid out his attraction on the table and he TALKED his way through it like a fucking adult instead of like a 12-year-old pretending he wanted to puke.

I was grateful for the direction on that scene too, where Jensen was visibly flustered and, interestingly enough, flattered in a way where Dean doesn't act like a dick and accepts the fact that another man can be attracted to him. Accept that it will happen, deal with it, move on. I don't see why this couldn't always be the case. Why must we constantly have Dean's little hetero guy assholishness?

I also don't think the show properly acknowledges that fact that even though we're in this little pretend world, the two leads of this show are uncommonly gorgeous for humans. Everything that breathes would be hitting on these guys. It would happen much more often.

Now, onto the baiting.
I seriously prefer the days when writers didn't interact with their fans because then I could see subtext and ship without feeling like I was being deliberately being baited.

I agree with this. TBTB have fun giving us the little winks and nudges with this stuff, but for those of us who would like to see positive portrayals of -- for lack of a better term, let's say "increasing" bisexuality -- it's disappointing. I would love to see a character like Dean grow and become aware that although he's into women, he's never had a long-term female relationship in his life and that his most intense emotional connections have been with men, and perhaps move to the next level of exploration with men.

I get so bitter seeing "teases" of the subtext knowing they're too chicken shit to actually make it canon.
THIS. It's never going to happen on a show like this because Hollywood prefers to make their gay characters stereotypically flamboyant if they're going to be gay (with few exceptions, like the Oz characters in my icon, but then again, that's HBO). And usually sexless. The writers know it, and as you said, prefer to play with it rather than give it the true attention it deserves. And don't get me started with the fans and the fetishization of homosexuality on Tumblr. That makes me angrier than all of this. Those are NOT the fans the writers should be "playing" to.

As much as I liked seeing that different reaction from Dean, I know it's going to be forgotten the next time some "gay stuff" comes up and he'll be back to the grossed-out faces and mannerisms.

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mf_luder_xf February 18 2013, 02:16:39 UTC
Ugh, I am a horrible person and let this week get away from me. Sorry for the late response!

we have a moment in which Dean does not make a face, roll his eyes, or pretend to GAG when another man gets in his space.

Yes, exactly! That's what makes this scene so different and why he appears flattered. It's definitely good to see this.

I don't see why this couldn't always be the case

Amen! The unfortunate thing is, of course, how much of this I see in real life. I know many people who propose to support gays or whatever, but if someone of the same sex ~dares to flirt with them, they get all disgusted or up in arms. It would definitely be great if a "know" heterosexual male could demonstrate that it isn't offensive or awful to be flirted with.

It's never going to happen on a show like this because Hollywood prefers to make their gay characters stereotypically flamboyant if they're going to be gay (with few exceptions, like the Oz characters in my icon, but then again, that's HBO).

Yup. And that's the most disappointing thing. In order for us (the public) to be okay with homosexuals on network TV, they have to be stereotyped. It has to effeminate men because then the body builder can go "see I'm, not gay!" and men can drool over attractive women cuddling with one other (i.e. Quinn and Santana) or mock the butch lesbians. Note how it's all directed at men. SIGH.

I hope, actually, that they do remember this nice moment and don't have Dean gag the next time something like it comes up. They've been pretty good at the hugs and the lack of (pardon the language) "no homo" moment after (this, I believe, is the correct usage of the phrase, unlike as seen on tumblr), so I'm just going to hope that if they write another gay flirting scene (or whatever) that it follows in the same trend.

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rhymephile February 18 2013, 07:02:34 UTC
No worried about the week-after reply! I like meta.

Everyone on Tumblr seems to think they're moving Dean in a more bisexual direction this season, and most are hoping we'll actually get to see this happen in canon. I can pretty emphatically say that it's never going to happen, no matter what the teens on Tumblr think. It's simply not forward-thinking enough right now to have something this remarkable happen.

I will say, though, as someone whose same-sex attraction was discovered late in life, it would be great to see this type of character growth. Of course Joss Whedon did it on Buffy, and that was the only time I've ever seen a slow, natural progression of someone's change in sexual attraction. It would be nice to see that bisexuality exists. There are some of us out here who wound up falling in love with the *person* rather than the gender. And man, if Castiel was a woman this would have already been one of the longest love affairs ever.

As far as my opinion goes, I don't think there's any right way to say "no homo," since, as I'm aware, it was mostly started in the rap community as a diss. I may be wrong, but that term is flammable and shouldn't ever be used.

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