On February 26th, 2016, J.J Abrams announced that he would like to see more gay characters in the future "Star Wars" films. I thought, "Great," until I decided to read the comments on Facebook (which always turns out not to be the greatest idea). Of course the main complaint is. "Why does everything have to be gay?" But, why does everything have to be straight is the real question? Just because you're so used to (and comfortable) living in a heteronormative society doesn't mean that everything is default straight. Gay people exist; they are real and I don't understand why they can't be reflected in TV, films and movies. Representation is super important for everyone: people in the LGBTQIA+ community deserve to (and should) see themselves represented. They should be able to see themselves being normal (because they are), living life, having awesome space adventures, falling in love, etc.

To add more wonderful fire to the flames of these ridiculous hurt "fans," Mark Hamill also stated that essentially Luke Skywalker is gay if you think he is gay. This is not the first time the lovely Mark Hamill has allowed people to see his character as whatever they please. It's beautiful that Hamill is allowing people to see themselves in Luke. He certainly understands the importance of this character. For the people who don't, I don't know how Luke being gay changes anything, the movies are still the same. Luke Skywalker is still the awesome, humble, sweet hero we all love and know. I do think it's meaningful to see this hero who has already broken norms by not being the stereotypical macho chosen one, break another norm. Why couldn't Luke be gay? His sexuality has never been clearly defined, he's only ever kissed his sister, Leia (which some people find more acceptable than being gay) and canonically in the comic book verse, had a wife and son. Moreover, I think being gay would be the least of his problems in the Star Wars' universe.

Also, I'm honestly tired of people complaining regarding the children. Going on and on saying, "What about the children?" I want to know: what about them? Children aren't dumb (some kids have two dads and moms), and children do not care about this. All you need to say if your child asks you why two people of the same gender are kissing or being romantic is "It's because they are in love" ("like mommy and daddy" if this child has a traditional family structure) and boom that's it. How do you regularly explain love to your child? It's not that hard or different. The children will go on their merry way, not caring that the characters are gay (or even bi, pan, etc). Once you explain something to a child, they don't dwell it, they get it and they're good. Seeing gay people will not shatter their world because children are not born to hate; they will understand that it's just love. Additionally, it won't take the story away from the kids, kids will still love it all the same. Lastly, why aren't parents worried about explaining incest to their kids? Luke did kiss his sister, and you would much rather let your child see incest (even though it was accidental) than two consensual adults of the same gender fall in love (that's rich).

Overall, to all the fanboys and fangirls complaining about this, it's a freaking movie about space with aliens and Jedis. Why is gay people (and other non hetero sexualities, as well as people of color but that's another matter) existing so hard to fathom?

And Fun Fact: unless a character says they are exclusively hetero, they are not exclusively hetero (stop deciding their sexuality for them).