The Boyfriendpocalypse: is it giving more lesbophobia or biphobia?
apparently every queer celeb has a bf now
Well, well, well, has queer tiktok ever been popping off. The gays and theys have really been battling it out in the comments these past few weeks, and thus far I’ve just been watching from the virtual sidelines.
However, at long last, with Pride weekend finally here and as I prepare my outfit for the Dyke March this Saturday (which is serious business, because at least 6 of my exes will be in attendance), I have decided to weigh in. Sigh. Because I feel, as I often do, that this whole situation would benefit from some hard hitting research. I know, way to take the fun out of online drama, but I fear that is my purpose and my promise to my faithful subscribers.
In case you have no clue what online situation I’m talking about, allow me to present a meme, courtesy of @sendhelp:
In brief, a series of unfortunate events has occurred, and by events I mean boyfriends, who have viciously recruited beloved queer icons to the dark side, and by the dark side I mean a straight-passing relationship. It began with JoJo, who left (cheated, depending on who you ask) her ex and started dating *shockingly* a man (I have a whole article about this miss Joelle situation). Then shortly after, the beloved sapphic artist Fletcher suddenly deleted all of her instagram posts, started dressing à la trad wife, put out a song called ‘Boy’ in which she announced that she’s been dating a man for years, and (most egregiously) put out a whole merch line of items with Boy written on them. And then, if that was not enough, Billie Eilish and Clairo—two other queer icons—were then spotted with men. In the words of one commenter who lives rent free in my brain, “I guess Billie don’t want no more lunch.”
As all of this has been unfolding, naturally there have been many reactions on socials, but the central debate has centered around one question: does criticism of these artists constitute biphobia OR is it justified as their behaviour constitutes erasure of the lesbian identity (during Pride month no less)? Well, I shall here humbly insert myself into the discourse to provide my insights, based on a review of literature on biophobia nad lesbophobia. Let’s get into it.
There’s Research on That?! is an independent substack publication, written by me, Jane, a queer, disabled researcher and educator :) Behind the paywall in this article you’ll find: a deep dive into the implications of biophobia and lesbophobia, and a take on how this celeb drama can teach an important lesson about the queer landscape right now. You can access this, as well as my eBook, all past articles, and the community chat with a paid subscription, which is the cost of a coffee.