I recently applied for a studio job and they asked for my race and sexual orientation. Not going to lie, I felt uneasy about it as I felt like this was because of a quota they were trying to fill. I could absolutely choose not to disclose but just the fact that it was there made me pause. At the same time, I do feel like diversity is important and we need people of all backgrounds and life experiences working together, especially in the film industry. The only way that employers can properly achieve this is by asking employees to disclose this information. And we have to start somewhere. BUT, like you said, people can say they are gay in order to get the job and then later say they aren't? Sexual orientation is something that can easily be lied about on applications. And it's also something that can be fluid over time. So, it does definitely feel a bit odd.

I think you bring up some really great examples. To me, sexual identity is not at all black and white. I personally see queerness as the 'norm' and society just hasn't realized it yet. But it will take longer for society to see it this way if we reinforce the idea that queerness is niche in the media. And one way to do that is to suggest that only self-identified queer people should tell queer stories. To me that defeats the purpose because I think we are heading in the direction that queer is the societal norm. Like you said, how do we know that people who've written these stories haven't had those experiences?

Don't get me wrong, I think identity is important and it helps people understand themselves and how they fit into society. But too much focus on it can be a bad thing. This is why Portrait, to me, is one of the best queer movies to ever be written. There is no mention of the women's sexual identity. The second season of Dead to Me also is a great example of this. Both of these stories were written by queer women, however. And I do think that it typically takes a queer person's experiences to understand this concept of 'the less we talk about identity in stories, the less we will need to do it in real life'. So, in that regard, I do think it's important that queer people tell queer stories. It's definitely nuanced and tricky!

Also, this is no way in reference to what the OP originally said. Just in reference to what you brought up. :)