I liked Love, Victor and (also Love, Simon)...but I鈥檓 tired of straight men playing the role of gay characters. When Love, Simon came out on the big screen, it was a huge moment for the LGBTQ+ community, especially for teens who were struggling to come out. Yes, it was a cookie-cutter, soft, cliche love story, but it represented the gay community and can finally relate to these characters. I was so happy to see Love, Victor come out as a spin-off series and it had the same message, but the journey was different. When finding out that the actors who played Victor (Michael Cimino) and Simon (Nick Robinson) identify as straight, it was kind of disappointing. It makes the watching experience less authentic because how can a straight man really know what a gay person has really gone through? It makes the connection a little bit harder because those feelings from the actor, aren鈥檛 raw feelings. Yes they are professionals, but it feels different.
Finally we (LGBTQ+ community) get our own representation on screen, and its covered by straight men and women, many of which won awards for portraying a gay character! Other examples include: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, The Favourite, Disobedience, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Danish Girl, Transparent, etc.
LGBTQ+ actors and actresses are already at a disadvantage when straight actors and actresses are given and considered for ALL roles.
I鈥檓 not saying that straight people are explicitly stealing roles from LGBTQ+ Actors and actresses and I鈥檓 definitely not saying gay people should only play gay roles and straight people only should play straight roles.
There needs to be more LGBTQ+ actors and actresses starring in these roles and for that matter ANY role, and there are a lot out there. Representation matters!
Comments
I 1000% agree as a straight guy like I shouldn't be playing the role of a minority like it's just not right
Katherinee_ I think they should just be aware and stand for equal opportunities. Straight actors are more likely to get any role. They can take a stand and say, have you looked for someone that can better suit this role? Just acknowledging it is a step.
I think diversity and representation are so important and would love to see more LGBTQ actors get roles. I love shows like Pose that are fantastic at championing LGBTQ characters and actors.
I don't think straight actors undermine the authenticity of stories and characters though. Their job is to pretend to be someone else, so they are usually good at playing someone who is a different sexuality. I'd love to see more gay actors get these roles, though, as you're right about there being a lack of LGBTQ actors.
I do agree that there aren't enough LGBT actors but I think a straight actor can show the message in this movie as well as someone who is gay, because like 75937563748 said their job is to pretend to be someone else.
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Thank you for saying that, as I thought of that point when I was writing this blog. I guess my frustrations just stemmed off of the straight majority taking all the roles.
_adidas_ no. That wasn鈥檛 the point I was trying to make. I鈥檓 saying that we need more gay actors and actresses for all roles but especially in roles where they can tell their stories.
There wasn鈥檛 one LGBTQ actor in more than one episode, from what I鈥檝e googled. Benji鈥檚 actor is straight as well. It鈥檚 disappointing, although I鈥檓 glad they at least tried to do it through the lens of a Puerto Rican family and how it might be different. Still, they only use a very much white passing lead.
Although I think a really strong actor can play any role it does defeat the purpose of trying to showcase a perspective from a specific community and not have the main character be from that community. I haven't seen Love, Victor or the movie but In The Dark is a tv show about a young blind woman navigating life and the actress is not visually impaired in real life.
