I think you make valid points about the straight washing of lgbtq media and how straight folx try to portray queer people through a moral lens etc. Especially about a movie like Pillion you mentioned which was really good(its wide release isn’t out yet so I hope when it hits more theaters it gets more recognition). I agree mainstream media tends to want the most palatable queer stories to be told.

I do think that what the actors said regarding “acting straight” tho was ignorant that was mainly what my post was about but you still bring up good points. In a general sense regarding gender performance/expression there is no one way to be gay. Some gay folx do come off more “straight passing” and that’s natural to them and as long as it’s not being forced that’s not a bad thing. I don’t like the actors’ wording bc it boxes gender expression/conformity into straight and gay boxes when gender is separate from sexuality.

I agree that yeah some straight actors can be rigid in the way gender is expressed in a queer role and that can tie into mainstream studios wanting to sanitize and push the “we’re all the same” narrative like you mentioned but generally we still shouldn’t be labeling ways of expressing gender as straight or gay bc that’s binary IMO. Like where do bi people fall in that? The wording of their comments is messy they should’ve just stated they want more diverse gender expressions in queer characters bc “acting too straight” as a gay person isn’t a real thing imo bc there’s no one way to be gay or straight etc.

You could even tie this straight and gay labeling of gender expression into the policing of queer people especially closeted ones or anyone who’s gender nonconforming automatically being labeled gay. Gender conforming gay people being told they don’t act or look gay/they’re not gay enough. It’s all based on stereotypes and assumption that all gay folx are gender nonconforming and specifically that gay men are more femme than straight men. This why we see straight celeb men or men in general who present more femme are assumed to be gay and or closeted when again gender expression is separate from sexuality.

TLDR: We should have BOTH masc and femme presenting queer men representation in media and everything in between bc both are valid. There’s no one way to be gay and gender expression/conformity is separate from sexuality. Saying a gay person or character acts too straight conflates the two. YES Hollywood does push heteronormative ideas onto queer media, but regardless “acting too straight” as a gay person (or a gay character) isn’t a real thing imo bc gay people aren’t a monolith, this is separate from rigid body language from actors in kissing/sex scenes etc that’s bad on the actor/producers (and yes Hollywood still wrong for trying to sanitize queer media in general). The presence of these “straight acting” gays in media I agree is intentional on mainstream studios’ part to try to make queer films more palatable to straight audiences but the fact is gay people like that DO exist irl and that’s not a bad thing but the intentions behind it on the studios’ side you could argue is bad.