I wasn't going to do this, but I've seen so many negative responses to this, and I'm sick of it.

NEWSFLASH: Straight actors aren't playing gay roles because they're better actors or better at playing gay. On the contrary, the people in charge don't want anything to be "too gay." https://twitter.com/meatsweatsx/status/1274470381588320256

Homophobia is embedded in the casting process. It is common practice for producers to call an actor, even if they are a small guest role, and inform them if they are going to be performing a same-sex kiss on screen. THIS IS NOT DONE FOR HETEROSEXUAL KISSES, FOLKS!

Queer representation is policed very hard in Hollywood. Gay male roles in particular are often barred from being even a little bit femme. The powers that be frequently want characters that "happen to be gay" because they don't want it to be rubbed in audiences' faces.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people with power in Hollywood sabotage an openly gay actor from getting a role or not even considering openly gay actors for a gay male role. "There just aren't many gay actors out there." Sure, Jan.

And to be clear, straight actors playing gay roles are offensive and damaging for very different reasons than blackface or cis actors playing trans roles. (The latter two are much more harmful.) But let me explain why.

You've probably heard about straight actor Jack Whitehall playing an openly gay character in Jungle Cruise. The role is described as "hugely effete, very camp, and very funny.” Now, this on its own if offensive because this character is being reduced to a dated stereotype...

It's even more harmful to have a straight actor play that role. Why? It reinforces these stereotypical characteristics are an act, that it's funny to laugh at desexualized, silly gay men, especially when straight men are mocking them.

If you don't think that has real-world repercussions, go to any school in this country. The consequences of male queerness being mocked on screen reverberate through every gay man in this country via micoragressions, internalized homophobia, and assault.

But let's talk about celebrity culture. Actors are no longer just the characters they play. Social media has shifted that reality. What happens when all the gay lead roles are going to straight men?

What kind of psychological effect do you think it has on young gays when they have no one to look up to? I saw this tweet joking about who they should've cast in Brokeback Mountain. The point is gay kids deserve someone bigger than Tyler Oakley to admire! https://twitter.com/iIconformista/status/1274741308121374720?s=20

I've had professional experiences where straight male actors asked for their same-sex roles to be desexualized. It's fucking offensive. I've seen straight male actors snicker during intimate same-sex scenes. It's fucking offensive. But it's not about me, it's about the audience.

I'm not saying straight actors can't do a great job respectfully portraying queerness. Some do! But lots don't, and audiences pick up on that. What does it say to young gay kids when two straight male actors don't have the same chemistry? When their sexy scenes get cut short?

It says gay men don't have value. It reinforces that gay sex is forbidden and bad. These things I've talked about reinforce bias against femme gay men and create shame. TV and film have a lot of influence on our culture and the way people behave. I'm sick of it. It makes me sick.