No, There Isn't A Visibility Problem on TWD

So the latest fluff piece over at a competing website was complaining about how there is not enough LGTB "visibility" on the Walking Dead. I disagree, and here's why this opinion is a house of cards. I don't typically shout out a particular website, or make a rebuttal on a specific article, but I'm still kind of pissed they lifted the concept of my Star Trek article. 

The article in question points out the various relationships on the Walking Dead and says that the representation of LGTB characters, and the amount of development towards the relationships between those characters, is lacking. See I have an issue with this sort of thinking. Allow me to count the ways:

The Counter Argument Is Valid

The writer of this article focuses on the TWD character Jesus, Aaron, and Eric, characters who are gay, as well as Tara and her loves. The argument is that they don't have -- as far as the writer is concerned -- enough screen time for romance. He points out that the counter-argument is that it is because they are newer and secondary characters.

That's exactly why they haven't gotten more screen time. These characters have only been on the show for a few seasons, at most. Before you start complaining about how these characters are not getting enough screen time for their romances, you have to look at both sides of the street. How many straight relationships on the show ended in violent death or a lack of spotlight. 

Let's count all the straight relationships that didn't get adequate screen time for their romances:

1. Carol and Ed Peltier
2. The entire Morales family
3.  The members of Maggie Green's family
4. Otis and his wife Patricia
5. Tyreese and Sacha Williams
6. Allen and his wife Donna
7. Ryan and Lizzie Samuels
8. Abraham and Ellen Ford
9. Reg and Deena Monroe
10. Pete and Jesse Anderson

A lot of these characters had their lovers/spouses/fuck buddy killed before we could get into the nitty-gritty of their relationships.

That said, Jesus is a new character. If you've been following the comic books at all, you'll note that Jesus first appeared in the comic books in 2011. While that was six years ago, that's not a whole lot of time in a comic book. The show meanwhile, has caught up with the comic books. Jesus, on the TV show, only popped up briefly in season 6, all of season 7, and will likely be a major character in season 8. The character still has new car smell for crying out loud. How about you let the character develop before you complain about how often they kiss their preferred gender.

The Show Is About Survival Not Romance

This might come as a shock to the writer of that article, but the Walking Dead is not a romance. Sure, there are romances in it, but it's about survival and the sociological dynamics that come up when human beings are put in a situation of survival of the fittest. Characters are going to die in horrifying ways. They're going to die unexpectedly. It's going to be sudden. It also won't be pretty. 

Also, fuck you for dictating how people should feel when a loved one is killed. Everyone deals with grief in different ways. Also, I don't know if you noticed or not, but these people have been in fight or flight mode for eight years straight. Characters are getting used to the fact that people they care about are going to die horribly. 

Stop Assuming Orientations, Asshole

Here's the other thing: Why are you assuming everyone on the show is straight? There are countless characters who have come and gone. without nary a word of what their preference is. 

Here, take a look at the user-contributed material that you guys mine for your articles. If you actually bothered researching before forming an opinion, you'll notice the many, many characters on the show. Did you notice all those red boxes? Those are dead characters. Are you assuming all of these people are straight? Fuck you buddy.

If a character is bisexual, and they are paired with someone on the show that is of the opposite sex it doesn't make them magically straight.

You're Also Dictating What LGTBQ Relationships Should Look Like

Not all homosexual relationships are the same. Entertainment, at its very core, is normalized voyeurism. The thing about voyeurism is that you only see so much. That said, just because there is a lack of intimacy between romantic characters, doesn't mean they aren't happening. For the purposes of the story, they might not a central focus.

Also, fuck you (again), for assuming that everyone is either gay or lesbian. Sexual orientation is fluid. Why are you assuming these characters aren't bi, pan, or asexual, queer, gender fluid, or whatever other definition you want to describe to pigeonhole what people's preferences are. By assuming that people need either be gay or straight, the author is failing to acknowledge that bisexual individuals are diverse in both their experiences and expressions of their sexuality.

I could give you a litany of web links that go through statistics about discrimination of the other letters in your inclusive initialism, but as someone who is writing about this sort of thing on the internet, you should have done your own damn homework before publishing your limited opinion.

Stop Shoehorning

Let's take a look at the statistics here....

According to a Gallup Poll, the percentage of LGTBQ people in America make up about 4% of the population. Now, I'm not a mathemagician or anything, but I'd say that the representation on the Walking Dead is if you're going to make your asinine assumptions is about that.

Yes, I agree that our entertainment should be diverse, covering all spectrums of race, gender, and orientation. However, I don't think it should be something shoehorned into television show because you have feelings you need to be protected. The addition of any character regardless of who they are (both physically and mentally) should be organic.

The best example of this is the character, Darryl Dixon. Stripping aside all those demographics you seem so intent on, the one thing to note about him is that he is unique to the television show and not the comic book. His insertion into the series wasn't crammed in there because they needed a bad ass. He was put on the show and has grown organically throughout the course of the series. If they just dumped in a biker character to look tough, to appease people who are bikers. Then it wouldn't be genuine. That in mind, take a look at Darryl Dixon. His sexuality on the show certainly shows a certain fluidity. 

How can you watch this show with such a critical eye and not see that?

I suppose if your platform wasn't so focused on click bait and faux outrage for ad revenue, you'd actually be writing something of substance, and I wouldn't need to tell you this.