Hollywood has a lot of work to do in terms of diversity. I can go on and on about the limited number of roles for people of color and how when there is a color quota, a lot of them are stereotypical. However, the diversity that I am talking about right now is the straightwashing problem of sexuality.
Hollywood has a problem with representing different sexualities. Although we do have shows that represent more than one sexuality, like "Pretty Little Liars," "Orange is the New Black," and "Glee," it's not nearly enough representation. Sometimes, it's not even well-done representation. We still have plenty of work that needs to be done on crafting queer storylines that aren’t always portrayed as being overly sad or inexplicably exotic.
One of the main issues (out of many) that have been bugging me lately is that Hollywood and other facets of entertainment seem afraid to write these beautiful queer relationships, yet unafraid to push unwanted heterosexual relationships. For example, why does Erik Lehnsherr, from the X-Men series, get a wife in "X-Men: Apocalypse"? The world may never know.
Oh, right, it’s because they’re afraid to have him and Charles Xavier "go there." They would rather have Erik enter in a random heterosexual relationship that is both very unnecessary and very out-of-character, especially since I’ve heard that he stops his mutant activism for said relationship. If Erik really wanted to end his mutant activism ways, why not for Charles? Their relationship is so much deeper; Charles is the first person that really understood Erik and helped him control his powers. Erik wanted Charles by his side as his partner for his cause. If that doesn’t merit turning into a romantic relationship, I don’t know what does. And if you don’t believe me, please watch "X-Men: First Class."
Overall, I feel this entire straightwashing business must stop. We need to stop being afraid of having two humans of the same sex, who obviously share chemistry—and I mean CHEMISTRY—be in an acknowledged romantic relationship with each other. And before people start simplifying this issue as a fangirl's fetish for two hot guys to bone (because for some it is), it’s not. It’s a serious issue that exhibits how Hollywood is still homophobic (LGBT+ phobic). People who are LGBT+ need to feel represented because their relationships are just as important as those of heterosexuals.
And lastly, we all know if Charles and Erik were male and female, they would be together already.
