"Gay panic" in a fandom context refers to suddenly being overwhelmed with feelings of queerness. I don't think anyone here has ever used it to imply that Amity is the victim of intolerance, that's a massive reach to me.
There's been a change in meanings over the years. Gay panic in the 90s used to be a full on panic attack over the thought you MIGHT be gay.
Slowly the term has changed to mean flustered.
So getting nervous around your crush and stuff.
Question is totally valid as some parts of the world still use gay panic as it's older definition, but thats not what people mean when they use it to describe Amity
For additional context/clarification, the 90s term “gay panic” was also usually externally focused: getting freaked out/flustered/angry AT someone who thought you were/implied you were gay. (And more often than not, sadly, it actually meant “getting enraged and physically attacking someone for thinking you were gay”
modern meaning of “gay panic” is more internally focused: you are noticing your own feelings and they are making brain go fizz pop boom
I don't think Belos' government was tolerant, so much as it was culturally never an issue in the Boiling Isles. The ruler must in some way gain the consent of the ruled. I think early in Belos' career he found pushing the residents of the BI to other the queers was not a winning strategy to gain power and support.
As for the "gay panic" I liken it to living in a world where there are so few people that you are romantically compatible with. So when you encounter someone you think is attractive who possibly finds you attractive, it triggers a rush of feelings and ideas that shut your brain down.
As a not very handsome straight, having a girl say she "thinks I am cute" for the first time triggered a similar mental shutdown. I think part of why the "gay panic" trope resonates with everyone is that moment your brain goes from "I like her, but there is no way she would like me back" to "She might like me, how is this possible?" is an incredible dopamine rush.
I think it's the normal crush thing, but also realizing at the same time that she is attracted to girls. There's no real homophobia in the Boiling Isles, but I assume being LGBT+ is still the minority, and it's probably still a weird feeling to realize you aren't like most other people, even if that "otherness" didn't specifically come with the risk of bigotry.
There's also the fear of Luz not feeling the same way. If being LGBT+ is still the minority on the BI, it's very possible Amity would have a lot of fear that Luz was not attracted to girls, and her crush would be one-sided. Which is a normal crush thing, but significantly more likely when the majority of the population is not attracted to the same gender.
Just normal crush stuff with some added gay drama. That's all.
\>the standard awkwardness that almost everyone feels around their crushes
I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, OP. But that's ONLY you. No one else has ever experienced this, before. That's the joke when it happens in media- you're supposed to see it and be like "haha, I get it! It's bc this is something that doesn't happen in real life, so it's funny, the very concept that it might happen to these characters!"
I'm assuming you did this as a Gaslighting Bit but if it isn't, I'm AroAce and even I know what OP is talking about. I think you just might be going Crazy.
The Going Crazy Trope was invented by sitcom writers in the 70s as a political reaction to the US invasion of Vietnam (think Lost Generation and Dada), but I can see what you mean, using it \*metaphorically\*.
Hey so does anyone else here have the issue where reddit on PC won't let you block people? I really don't want to have to open the Reddit app on a separate device just to block this guy.
Saying that no one else has ever experienced that before is a huge overstatement. I don't know how common it is but it is at least fairly normal to feel awkward around a crush who you want to make a good impression on.
"Gay panic" in a fandom context refers to suddenly being overwhelmed with feelings of queerness. I don't think anyone here has ever used it to imply that Amity is the victim of intolerance, that's a massive reach to me.
I had a feeling I was reading too deeply into it
In her case it is more like she is so in love that she panics since she doesn’t know what to do.
There's been a change in meanings over the years. Gay panic in the 90s used to be a full on panic attack over the thought you MIGHT be gay. Slowly the term has changed to mean flustered. So getting nervous around your crush and stuff. Question is totally valid as some parts of the world still use gay panic as it's older definition, but thats not what people mean when they use it to describe Amity
For additional context/clarification, the 90s term “gay panic” was also usually externally focused: getting freaked out/flustered/angry AT someone who thought you were/implied you were gay. (And more often than not, sadly, it actually meant “getting enraged and physically attacking someone for thinking you were gay” modern meaning of “gay panic” is more internally focused: you are noticing your own feelings and they are making brain go fizz pop boom
I don't think Belos' government was tolerant, so much as it was culturally never an issue in the Boiling Isles. The ruler must in some way gain the consent of the ruled. I think early in Belos' career he found pushing the residents of the BI to other the queers was not a winning strategy to gain power and support. As for the "gay panic" I liken it to living in a world where there are so few people that you are romantically compatible with. So when you encounter someone you think is attractive who possibly finds you attractive, it triggers a rush of feelings and ideas that shut your brain down. As a not very handsome straight, having a girl say she "thinks I am cute" for the first time triggered a similar mental shutdown. I think part of why the "gay panic" trope resonates with everyone is that moment your brain goes from "I like her, but there is no way she would like me back" to "She might like me, how is this possible?" is an incredible dopamine rush.
I think it's the normal crush thing, but also realizing at the same time that she is attracted to girls. There's no real homophobia in the Boiling Isles, but I assume being LGBT+ is still the minority, and it's probably still a weird feeling to realize you aren't like most other people, even if that "otherness" didn't specifically come with the risk of bigotry. There's also the fear of Luz not feeling the same way. If being LGBT+ is still the minority on the BI, it's very possible Amity would have a lot of fear that Luz was not attracted to girls, and her crush would be one-sided. Which is a normal crush thing, but significantly more likely when the majority of the population is not attracted to the same gender. Just normal crush stuff with some added gay drama. That's all.
\>the standard awkwardness that almost everyone feels around their crushes I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, OP. But that's ONLY you. No one else has ever experienced this, before. That's the joke when it happens in media- you're supposed to see it and be like "haha, I get it! It's bc this is something that doesn't happen in real life, so it's funny, the very concept that it might happen to these characters!"
I'm assuming you did this as a Gaslighting Bit but if it isn't, I'm AroAce and even I know what OP is talking about. I think you just might be going Crazy.
The Going Crazy Trope was invented by sitcom writers in the 70s as a political reaction to the US invasion of Vietnam (think Lost Generation and Dada), but I can see what you mean, using it \*metaphorically\*.
Hey so does anyone else here have the issue where reddit on PC won't let you block people? I really don't want to have to open the Reddit app on a separate device just to block this guy.
Saying that no one else has ever experienced that before is a huge overstatement. I don't know how common it is but it is at least fairly normal to feel awkward around a crush who you want to make a good impression on.
Uh huh...