12 LGBTQIA+ tropes we don’t want to see in pop culture anymore

Cheating

Affairs in monogamous relationships, both fictional and nonfictional, aren’t uncommon. In films, cheating can show the start or a murderous plot, comedy, or just lead to an unlikely friendship. We’ll give it to the overarching cheating trope, it can be a creative tool in writing. However, it can lead to unsavory stereotypes in regards to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Because LGBTQIA+ couples get less representation in pop culture than straight couples, the overwhelming cheating tropes make it seem like its a reflective theme in real-life couples. However, gay couples aren’t more likely to cheat on their spouse or significant other than straight people. However, cheating is often times used as a stepping stone for LGBTQIA+ characters, where they cheat in their straight relationship with a person of the same sex, and that ignites the self-acceptance of their identity.

However, there’s also American Horror Story: Cult, where cheating is integrated into the horror genre of the series and season. In the season, Ally, who is married, ends up having an encounter with Winter that is a form of cheating — as well as a form of, as Refinery29 argues, sexual assault.

Regardless, there are less destructive means, other than cheating that creators can use to illustrate turmoil in on-screen LGBTQIA+ couples.