LyraBon Rant · 1:41am Jun 20th, 2015
Equestria Daily recently made a post asking people to discuss what Lyra and Bon Bon’s relationship is, and a lot of the comments are making me so ticked off that I’m going to rant about it. I rarely ever share my opinions of the show (or any other show) to anyone on the internet but good lord this REALLY bugs me.
The comments on the post are varied, with probably just as many people saying “they’re a couple” as there are people saying “they’re just friends.” And over and over I’m seeing the same arguments as to why Lyra and Bon Bon are “just friends”:
“I have the same relationship with my female friends that Lyra and Bon Bon have/I know female friends who are that close and they’re not in a romantic relationship”
“The episode said that they are best friends so that’s all they are”
“Why must everyone insist that characters are romantic with each other? Why can’t they sometimes just be friends? Showing platonic relationships is important too, you know!”
Which are all basically the equivalent of someone sticking their fingers in their ears and singing “lalalalala the thought of two female characters being in a romantic relationship in a kids’ show is making me uncomfortable so I’m going to ignore all the blatant hints lalalalala.”
You know what I saw when watching that scene? Lyra and Bon Bon making bedroom eyes at each other and acting a lot closer than what I would expect two platonic friends to act. Oh, so you and your female best friend act that way together in real life? Well that’s good for you I guess. I know that I don’t act that way towards my own best friend but that’s just me. You know who also doesn’t act that way? The other female characters in the show. When have we ever seen the Mane 6 act that intimate towards each other? They’re close, sure, but they don’t make bedroom eyes at each other or talk to each other in such a seductive tone.
Neither, it’s important to add, do Derpy/Doctor Whooves or Vinyl/Octavia. There is nothing in the episode to suggest that Vinyl and Octavia are more than just roommates or that Derpy and the Doctor are more than just friends. That’s not going to stop people from shipping them of course, but as far as canon goes, nothing more than friendship was implied. And yet, the staff didn’t feel the need to have those characters calling each other BEST FRIENDS in every other sentence. The staff knows that the fandom ships those characters with each other just as much as it does LyraBon, so why did they have Lyra and Bon Bon emphasize their BEST FRIEND status so often? Maybe to hint that they are actually MORE than just best friends but unfortunately the idea of having LGBT characters in a kid show is still very much taboo so the writers are only able to communicate it through subtext?
And now to my favorite argument: “Why can’t two characters just be friends? Friendships are important!”
….You are watching a show whose title is literally FRIENDSHIP Is Magic. The entirety of the show is about the importance of platonic relationships and how to be a good friend! Good freaking lord, there are dozens of same-sex platonic relationships in this show as well as several different-sex romantic relationships, WHY CAN’T YOU LET THE LGBT COMMUNITY JUST HAVE THIS ONE. CANON. LESBIAN. SHIP.
I saw the exact same bullshit arguments when Legend of Korra ended. And you know what really gets me? If one of these characters was a stallion instead of a mare, NO ONE would be arguing that their relationship was anything but romantic. I’m so damn tired of heteronormativity. All different-sex characters have to do is LOOK at each other and everyone shouts “CANON!” but same-sex characters have to PROVE that they’re gay because unless they kiss or explicitly say that they love each other you’ve got people saying that they’re just “close friends.”
*grumbles irritably while drawing gay horses*
That sounds so annoying. I never read the comments on EQD myself, for reasons like this. Personally, my thought is ship what you want, and if you disagree with someone, don't comment. And as for your rant about heteronormativity- I cannot agree with you more! And its so dumb that its taboo to have LGBT characters. Seriously, not everyone is straight! And what is the issue anyway? How is painting same-sex relationships in a positive light so frowned upon? It's not like supporting gay marriage and having same-sex couples in shows is going to doom the world. All it means is someone is attracted to the same sex rather than the opposite sex. So why is this taboo again?! And in ancient Greece, same-sex relationships were practically sacred. So what happened, exactly? And if anyone brings up the 'against nature' argument, they need to look around. There are same-sex couples among ungulates, other mammals, birds, and more. I could name quite a number of examples pretty easily.
/end rant
LyraBon is totally confirmed (best canon couple, in my mind!), and I'm really happy MLP FIM had the guts to actually show that same-sex couples do indeed exist. And i can't wait to see your drawings!
(Shameless advertising ahead!)
(If you like gay horses, all the AviaVerse stories I'm writing have LGBT couples, if you ever get time to read them!)
I look forward to the day when LGBT characters can be in children's media openly, and when those characters are commonplace in adult's media without being the "token gay character."
And yes, I live for gay horses! I'm planning on starting your stories after I finish your covers so that I have adequate time to dedicate to reading them. I try not to start multichapter stories if I know I might have to put it on hiatus for whatever reason.
3166687 Thank you so much! Hopefully you'll like my stories and all- thank you again for doing those amazing covers!
On a different topic, if history is anything to go by, 50 years from now people will be wondering why people made such a big deal out of simply giving everyone equal rights (gay marriage, trans rights, etc.), just as they do now when they look back at the huge stir about interracial marriage and 'Jim Crow' laws. And I bet in the far future, no one will give a flying feather about who someone loves, real or fictional, as long as the lovers, whoever they may be, treat each other well.
(Sorry for the late reply, by the way. I didn't realize you'd responded to my comment til just now!)
Wow. Quite a rant.
Well, in response is hafta say that I don't ship Lyra and Bon Bon, but I am ok with them as a couple. In fact I feel that they would work better as a couple over Vinyl and Octavia.
Having a same sex couple in a kids show wouldn't be bad, just precarious. Nowadays this is more accepted even revolutionary! But it's got to be handled carefully or you will alienate viewers who aren't as open minded. Instead they leave it open to interpretation that way it is and it isnt. Sitting on the fence you say? Yeah it is.
I suppose I should admit that I am a heterosexual male, and I probably lack true insight. But I do feel I have perspective.
I am curious, have you ever seen the 90's era Superman cartoons? From Bruce Timm? Towards the end of one of the major stories one of the main detectives gets seriously hurt. At the hospital, she is checked on by partner (fellow detective, Dan Turpin) and a woman about her age, whom we have never met before. They don't say much but when they greet each other, it obvious that they are together. It was handled really well, no weirdness or awkwardness, it wasn't even that important to the storyline, but to me it felt right, "normal". Cause it was.
I dunno, maybe I am rambling too
I haven't seen the Superman cartoon, but that sounds really great! It's a shame that studios have to be so careful about portraying LGBT characters, but I think it's more due to how other countries will react than how Americans react. Since American media gets viewership from countries where simply being gay is illegal or much more taboo than here, shows could lose money if those countries decide to ban them, from what I understand. Gay relationships in children's media are getting more common though. Hell, Steven Universe isn't even being subtle about it, from what I've seen. (I'm actually really surprised I haven't heard any backlash about SU, considering that a bunch of people freaked out over a Disney show having a lesbian couple.) I think the trend will only continue, especially with gay marriage now being legal across the country, and that we will see more and more openly LGBT characters and far less subtext. As a bi woman myself, I was ridiculously happy that Legend of Korra ended with two bi women together, even if it was subtle. It's nice to be represented. But I think, as this becomes more common, that writers should focus on what seems right for their characters, and have them be "normal," as you said.