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

Reverse coming out (featuring the “fluidity” of women’s sexuality)

This trope may or may not feature a gay character who realizes they’re actually straight or a different identity within the community. However, more commonly this trope includes a LGBTQIA+ character, typically a lesbian, who falls in love with a man and either implicitly or explicitly questions their sexuality because of it. It’s a reversive trope because it implies lesbians can be “turned” straight or bi+.

From Gigli to Chronicles of Riddick to Chasing Amy, there are multiple films and series that include a plot where a man pursues a lesbian character and has sex with her. This innately perpetuates the age-old stereotype that lesbians just haven’t found the “right guy.” However, it also portrays lesbians as a challenge or a conquest for men to “turn straight.” While these portrayals very wrongly suggest that lesbians can be turned straight, they also revolve a lesbian character’s narrative around a man and his convoluted (and obviously wrong) interpretation of women who love women.

Though some people in the community have found out more about our sexuality by experiences, using this trope signifies that women’s sexualities are fluid. While some people accept that their individual sexuality is fluid, not all categories of sexuality are fluid. Because the lesbian sexuality explicitly excludes attraction to men, including any storyline where a lesbian has sex with a man misrepresents lesbians and can lead to physical and sexual violence against lesbians.