writer: this is one of my male characters! he cares about his guy friends and loves them deeply.
tumblr: oh! so he’s gay!
writer: uh…no, he’s attracted to women.
tumblr: ….so he’s bi!
writer: uhh…no…….he loves his guy friends but he’s not romantically/sexually attracted to them.
tumblr: ….so you’re homophobic.
writer:
Healthy male friendships are almost as rare in mainstream fiction as gay male relationships, and maybe more rare in fanfiction. Let men be wonderful friends without pushing a romantic relationship, just like men and women should be able to be wonderful friends without the pressure of a romantic relationship.
*AGGRESSIVELY SLAMS REBLOG UNTIL I DIE*
This is literally the reason men are so terrified of being open about loving each other platonically, because they don’t want people to assume they’re gay just because they can be supportive of their fucking friends
…but that’s only a problem because of ingrained societal homophobia. If straight men considered being thought gay just a simple mistake, harmless and easily cleared up, then they wouldn’t be afraid to show platonic love for their male friends.
Interestingly, this problem only seems to arise in cultures transitioning from prohibition to acceptance of homosexuality. In cultures where homosexuality is unthinkably taboo, men do show platonic affection for each other because people wouldn’t misidentify it; and in cultures where it’s fine, men wouldn’t mind people occasionally making the mistake.
Loki is the Philosopher King 