Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4839682-20130723082014/@comment-22525977-20130925005754

By the same token: Why SHOULDN'T OUaT be, as you say, the flagship? Yes, asking why they should is a valid question, but so is asking why they shouldn't. Someone, somewhere, is going to do it, so why not OUaT?

And the very fact that OUaT's whole schtick is fairytales through a modern lens, they're in a position where they could do some really fascinating things exploring sexuality, gender roles, and so on. That was what initially drew me to the show, back when I still thought Emma/Snow/Charming were meant to be decoy protagonists and they were setting up Regina as the real one.

Erasure is not a matter of "a" TV show ignoring LGBTQIA people. It's a matter of the VAST MAJORITY of TV shows ignoring them. And while I'm glad for you that you aren't hurt by not seeing a facet of yourself portrayed (positively and well) in mainstream media, that's the exception, not the rule; most people—myself included—are genuinely upset and frustrated at being ignored (in the interest of full disclosure: I'm an aromantic ace and I would kill—metaphorically—to JUST ONCE see an asexual character who WASN'T depicted as being subhuman, sociopathic, broken, simply naive/closeted/not yet having met the right man/woman, or any combination of the above. This does not mean that I sit around and bemoan that this has not yet happened [that I know of—if I'm wrong please do point me in the right direction]—it means I get on with my life and rant sometimes—and the ranting, mind you, is because I'm the type of person who will rant about just about anything because I enjoy it; it's a hobby).

Regarding Swan Queen specifically and tokenism: Regina and Emma are both very complex, well-developed characters—Regina, admittedly, rather moreso than Emma by way of having more of her backstory examined—and if the writers chose to capitalize on the chemistry that is already there, that relationship would be the opposite of token gay. Emma is the protagonist, and while I don't think the writers have fully made up their minds on whether Regina is a villain or an anti-hero, she's not a minor character by eny stretch of the imagination. The sheer magnitude of their presence in the show means that it's impossible that any romance between the two could be the token LGBTQIA bit, barring a one night stand that's never or barely mentioned again a la Dr. Whale and Mary Margaret. And an unimportant one night stand is not what Swan Queeners are asking for.

Personally, I'd take a token LGBTQIA character over none at all; at least then the show acknowledges that these things exist. As it is, what I'm taking away from the show is that the FTR is even worse about these things than our world is.