So I have been reading some lit rpg and in case you don't know, that's books about gaming worlds. While I am (mostly) enjoying them, I do find some things problematic. A lot of the books have heterosexual male leads, which in and of itself is not a problem, but the objectification of women and some of the depictions of romance (as well as the absence of any lgbt characters that aren't male lesbian fantasies) do tend to be. And I understand that I'm not the target audience, but why do I have to feel guilty about enjoying something that I otherwise find fascinating simply because I'm not the target audience? And does catering to the homophobic tendencies of toxic masculinity that exist within the target audience do any good? Sure I could read any number of lgbt friendly books from other genres and then I wouldnt have to worry about it, but I want to read things that interest me without finding this kind of passive aggressive jab at homosexuality and female equality within books that otherwise seem to be putting forward very liberal mindsets. A lot of these books have critiques of capitalism and racism and xenophobia that you'd expect to find in books written by someone with an open mind.
Okay, so I was reading a bunch of different authors and finding basically the same formula. And I came across a book series with a bisexual man as the main character and I was thrilled, at first. I was thrilled until the books deliberately alienated him from the male love interest, who was far more interesting, to shove a relationship with the female love interest for almost two books of the series, just to have the final resolution to the m/m sexual tension fairly well glossed over (while the m/f relationship was practically shoved down your throat). And I was no longer excited by having a bisexual male lead, because if both m/m and f/m relationships aren't treated equally, is it good representation?
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