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wakeupthemembersofbylernation · 3 months

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Based on the way the story has been written, especially following season 4, I do believe mike is likely gay atp. But “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” still makes sense as projection if Mike is bi because lots of closeted bi teens are confused about their feelings, especially in the 80s where terms like “bisexual” wouldn’t have been as readily accessible to kids from Hawkins, Indiana.

Simply the fact that Mike likes boys/Will could make him worried that he’s gay and cause him to hyperfixate on the concept of not liking girls more often, especially if his feelings for El were waning, or if his feelings for Will were overwhelming, even if he did in fact have a crush on El at the start of the show. Nothing says being a closeted bi teen like bouncing back and forth between “I can’t be gay, I like girls” and “Oh no, I like boys, am I gay?”

I think there’s a common misconception that the bi Mike view necessitates oversimplifying the story as “Mike used to be into El, and now he’s into Will.” That isn’t necessarily the case. A bi Mike reading can still involve internalized homophobia, projection, the heteronormative pressure to conform and date girls, repression, and most of the things we talk about here.

(I didn’t really wanna get involved in this, but I feel like this is important to add).

#byler #gay mike wheeler #bi mike wheeler #even looking at the modern media example of heartstopper #nick nelson is bi #(but the am i gay quiz he took gave him a 62% which means he likely has a male lean)#he does like girls which means he technically has the ability to like Imogen who is pretty and kind and likable #but his feelings for charlie are overwhelming #and even in a modern context where microlabels are more well known #he still gets confused and struggles to understand how he’s feeling and what it all means #why do people expect a boy growing up in hawkins indiana with a conservative father #and no internet access while going through puberty #to have a perfect grasp on what he feels towards will and el?#the bi-cyle is real too #and there are even celebs who previously identified as bi who realize they’re gay/lesbian and vice versa #in 2024 #that’s why on some level the queer but unlabeled mike is the best #because it’s the best of both worlds and captures the complexity of being gay in the 80s #a definitively gay mike WOULD tie everything up in a nice cohesive unmessy neat clear narrative bow #but not everything is clear and unmessy

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lambdalibrary · 2 years

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June 7th Carmilla

[Image ID: The cover of an edition of Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu, edited by Carmen Maria Machado. The cover is divided into 3 sections horizontally. On the first section are two bat faces looking towards the reader, with a bat with its wings spread below them. This section is entirely red. In the next section is the title and author's name. To the left is a quote by Jordan Hall, credited as the co-creator and writer of Carmilla the Series, it reads, "I can't think of a better guide through this ethereal, infuriating book than Carmen Machado." In the last section is a collection of different bat faces, drawn in pencil like anatomical studies. It is white, except for two red puncture wounds on the right side meant to mimic a vampire bite. End ID.]

Triggers

There is a racist description of a black woman in one scene

Summary

Carmilla is the story of Laura, an isolated woman surrounded by dark forests and crumbling ruins, and Carmilla, who enters Laura's life seemingly randomly and quickly becomes an intriguing presence for her. This is a gothic vampire novel from the 1800s told in epistolary (as in, it's narration is framed as a series of letters) format, Dracula 26 years before Dracula and actually gay.

Links

Openlibrary link - audiobook available

Project Gutenberg link (same book, but this site gives you a downloadable file to own, while the openlibrary works like...a library, you're only borrowing the book there.)

Review

Carmilla is the lesbian vampire novel (although if you're going to apply any modern label to Carmilla, she's more implied to be bisexual). Although that does also make Carmilla a very early example of the, very literal in this case, lesbian/bisexual predator in media. This is something to read less for representation and more as a case study of the origins of that trope that would eventually become commonplace in media featuring lesbians and bi women.

In a way, Carmilla is very similar to an American lesbian pulp novel from the 1950s. Lesbian pulp novels were cheaply made, usually written by and for men (Carmilla also was written by a man) for cheap thrills, although lesbians consumed them as well, for obvious reasons.

While the literal predatory of a vampire would be substituted by more frank lesbianism, but seen almost the same way. Carmilla's vampiric attacks on Laura are sexual, seen as a problem as something to be solved by the religious and medical institutions of the 1800s before she succumbs, as "homosexuality" would be in the 1950s and beyond. And with Carmilla's position in this horror novel as antagonist and literal monster, her attraction to women becomes a danger in itself, a pitfall Laura almost falls into before she is saved by the men in her life killing Carmilla in her home. Which happens to be a coffin full of blood, but that's no excuse for breaking and entering. A key characteristic of lesbian pulp novels is that one or both women end up dead, separated, or "saved" by men into heterosexuality, all of which happens in Carmilla.

None of this is to say that there aren't good things to be found in Carmilla, that it can't be reclaimed in the same way pulp novels had, but just as a warning that you shouldn't read it for the same reason you would read something like, say, Heartstopper. It's a wonderful novel, especially if you like gothic horror or are at least signed up for Dracula Daily.

And honestly, along the same lines as Dracula Daily, Carmilla can be really really funny with how oblivious Laura is. I'm sure this all must have been very suspenseful in the 1800s but reading it now it's like girl....that's a vampire. Twitch streamers don't exist yet Laura there's no reason for Carmilla to be getting up at noon.

So yeah, I really recommend Carmilla and it's also really short you can finish it in one go even, like I did. And it's nice to find older LGBT stuff, like really old, and examine them, seeing how they connect to a greater LGBT canon.

#carmilla #joseph sheridan le fanu #bookblr #lgbt #lgbtq #bisexual #lesbian #wlw #pride month #wlw books #horror books #lgbt books #lgbt horror #book rec #book recommendations #dracula daily

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