There is incongruity with that argument, however. If it is about representation, then statistically speaking having minorities equally represented in all literature/video games/etc distills the lived reality by creating false pictures of life through the process of literary catharsis. Over-representation is as much an issue, which we see in the largely western, male oriented narratives (edit: meaning the over representation of white male narratives, just to clarify) - but it is likewise possible to over correct. I think over correction is what happened in the case of the "Force is Female" kind of marketing, for example.
I don't see issues with characters who are gay, straight, or anywhere in between, but I do see an issue with normalizing - in the statistical sense - outlying representations of sexuality in literature/games that are consumed by pre-pubescent audiences. I'm not a prude that thinks kids shouldn't know about sex, but I think offering answers to certain questions about sexuality prior to actual physical relevance is problematic. I think more precisely, as I am writing and thinking about it, is the mixture of sexuality with audiences who are classified as kids rather than young adults. It is an important distinction. And this leads in to parental responsibility to be informed of what your kids are up to, and support them while they explore who they are. This is why ratings exist, for the most part. To help parents guide their kids' choices of content consumption.
In itself, this is not an issue for creators making their stories, etc, it is a home issue. But the issue is dramatically exacerbated by the fact that there is no way to enforce ratings at the actual user level.
Me, personally, I find that if the romance doesn't actually have some importance to the narrative, then it is superfluous and masturbatory - wholly useless for anything other than self aggrandizement. Art should follow the KISS rule.
Last edited by qhristoff; 30/03/20 07:44 PM.
