I'm witerally so bored

It is definitely true that the LGBTQ+ has a lack of representation in media, and now with the release of shows like heartbreaker, heated rivalry, and red white royal blue, it has been groundbreaking for our community. But it makes me a little sad because literally where are the lesbians? I do feel like MLM is disproportionately more popular than WLW, because the insane and viral heights of success reached by the shows listed above, all which are MLM romances, I cannot think of WLW romance like that.

Looking even at my beloved fandoms I see this clear inequality and BTW this is not meant to be an attack on anyone’s opinion. Literally basically all the shows/characters/ships I’ve listed I like, it just makes me crazy how much more attention MLM receive over WLW.

1. ALIEN STAGE: People out here obsessing over IvanTill way more than MiziSua when Mizi is literally MC hurts me so much. I saw people online saying ‘oh they’re boring compared to them’ and that’s why but have we not seen Karma? MiziSua is neither simple nor boring (nor completely healthy lol) and omg people were hating down on Mizi for Karma but NGL I feel like if Till or Ivan pulled that, people would defend them ‘he did it for love’ or offer so much more benefit of doubt/forgiveness.

2. STRANGER THINGS: It’s not the popularity difference between RobinVicki and MikeWill that upset me, because understandably unlike Alien Stage, they’re not the MCs like Mike and Will, but it did strike me weird how they gained more love and popularity when their own WLW ship was there to push the narrative for Will’’s sexual identity as a MLM.

3. ARCANE: Jayvik taking overrr when CaitVi is right there We had a whole sex scene and crazy chemistry and still people disproportionately cared for Jayvik. PLUS, my girl Mel did nothing wrong (well anymore than the next guy) but still received insane hatred, definitely made worse because she was POC, but rooted in the fact she was in the way of the MLM ship.

I’m not saying that popular WLW media does not exist, but has literally any WLW ROMANCE show even had the similar insane success to the BL movies I listed at the start? And I’m highlighting romance as the central element, rather than an additional plot, because there is definitely shows like SheRa and Bly Manor which the real ones know is peak WLW writing, but it was definitely not the central theme or actually obvious at all until the middle/end.

I am aware this can be attributed to the fact that the audience are girls/women and what do we love if not seeing boy kissers, but I can’t help but feel annoyed, especially for MiziSua because she is literally the main character but men took away the spotlight from it, and Im sorry, IvanTill’s dynamic is much more cliche and less complex compared to MiziSura, letsbereal.

But to be my own’s devil advocate I do understand that some WLW are more underdeveloped and basic compared to MLM. I feel like MLM romances have more space for toxicity/complexity/flaws/unlikeability, thus being more interesting, and I have definitely seen cases where WLW relationships are so perfect it borders boring, but let’s be so woke and it that not because of misogyny??? Women are so overly hated in the media, and god forbid a female character be slightly complex. So even if there is a WLW relationship that isn’t ‘boring’ as many complain, is there even the narrative space for that??? Like I wonder are we going to defend and justify a semiotic MLM character is he was a woman the same way we do now? Whenever I see people hating on a female character like she killed their own mother, I always wonder would be keep this same energy if that was a man.

There is a flip side to this of course, because if we think why there is such a crazy fixation on MLM so much, it is indeed partly rooted in sexual fetish. Thus, people would rather want/care about where the MLM romance happens over the complexities of the characters beyond romance. Going back to MikeWill, I see everyone arguing about MikeEl vs. MikeWill and saying it’s queer bait if MikeWill doesn’t happen and I don’t understand that at all because Will is not gay FOR Mike, he is just gay. I wish people appreciated how beautiful it is that a mainstream media show is portraying coming to terms with queerness and more than anything, coming out to yourself. That’s why I love Robin and Will’s friendship so much, it is an aspect of Will’s queerness that isn’t immediately linked to a sexual relationship, and also as a straight passing queer woman with many ally straight friends, it is still important to have queer friends because they understand it.