Anime community and Homosexuality (lesbianism excluded)

Pullman said:
Guess it is yet again time for me to contribute my usual rant about this topic.

Well, yeah, homophobia is still a thing and parts of the anime fandom are particularly bad in this regard. And vocal. And obsessed about making it seem like the natural stance of any heterosexual male to to treat anything gay with a mixture of disgust and aggression. They aren't satisfied just having their opinions and preferences and being assholes about it, they always insist it's the normal thing to do, which is probably what aggrevates me most about those people. They refuse to accept that anyone who isn't gay can watch anything remotely related to the topic of homosexuality (unless it's lesbian fanservice). They need to believe that only rotten fujoshi enjoy something like that because otherwise they might be the weird ones for their irrational degree of aversion to anything that has two males in it who talk to each other. In the case of Yuri on Ice they refuse to accept that it only reached the popularity it has because the fanbase is diverse and aside from fujoshi and regular girls also includes a lot of males who sincerely like the show, for its concept, its direction, its romance, its visuals, etc...

At the end of the day they are just a vocal minority who are, for some reason, so bitter and frustrated and scared of the topic of homosexuality that they need to take every opportunity to vehemently point out that a) they are not into anything with two males in it and b) noone else should be enjoying anything like that either unless they are a fujoshi fapping to Yaoi Hands. It's literally the same handful of posters every fucking time a thread with a related topic pops up, it's both sad and funny. Some of them have been at it for years, like they are on a mission to make everyone on MAL know how obsessively they distance themselves from anything ranging from Haikyuu to gayporn. I should know, I've put most of MALs vocal homophobes on ignore over the years and everytime there is a thread about homosexuality I see the same wall of minimized posting the ignore function is protecting me from.

I have to add tho that being a homophobic asshole doesn't have to mean someone is insecure about their sexuality. Sometimes they're just assholes, period. No further psychological analysis required. I'm sure they're assholes about other things they don't like, don't understand or don't approve of as well.

The silent majority fortunately doesn't share their obsession and the - even to me - unexpected popularity of Yuri on Ice just proves that. No matter what those people think, you don't reach that level of popularity without having a solid fanbase with both sexes. I personally know more male fans who love the show than females among my MAL friends. Most people have moved on past the homophobic phrases and the need to reassure themselves and the of their heterosexuality. All that's left is a few, sad figures still standing at the same place they stood 5 years ago shouting the same bullshit phrases they've been shouting all their life, and probably will be shouting for the remainder of it.

Like

when it's only them and the hardcore fujoshi seeing anything gay in some of these anime.

Or


when sex isn't even a thing in any of those shows.

But I am optimistic that in a few generations those kind of people will have almost died out. Their numbers are already dwindling and they're trying to make up for it by being twice as loud and four times as obnoxious about their preferences as anyone else, but don't let them fool you. They know exactly that they are becoming an endangered species, hence why they are so anxious these days. The best you can do is not to give them a platform for their agenda. Don't engage them, just smile upon them with pity for their life is being dominated by petty fears of men kissing each other and whatnot. They are helpless to defend themselves against the world conspiring to commit the 'crime' (in their eyes) of accepting homosexuality as something normal not to be frowned upon, something that has a place in mainstream media and any other place where romance or sexuality play a role, and they lash out as a defense mechanism. I've tried reasoning with them in the past but that is just a depressing and futile act. Now I just recommend ignoring them and focusing on the many people who have more reasonable views on the topic.


On a sidenote the episode discussion forums always bring out the worst in people - and the worst people - so you will always find plenty of offensive, provocative, trolling, baiting and shittalking posts there. If you do not enjoy partaking in such activities or engaging individuals who do, I strongly recommend never going to these subforums ever again for the sake of your sanity. Especially for ongoing shows. I've been active on MAL for almost 7 years, and I love this place, but I can only do that because I've avoided the series subforums from day 1. If I hadn't I'd probably have quit MAL and possibly the internet as a whole long ago. It really isn't a place for anyone with a brain and/or a sincere intent to talk about things in a nice and orderly fashion, without insults and baiting.

So basically you can only blame yourself for getting aggrevated about anything that happens in there. It is a cesspit. It is to be expected. But don't judge MAL or people in general based on places where they're at their worst. Like youtube comments or the series discussion subforums.