Straight Guys!!! on ICE

SPOILERS: Up to episode seven of Yuri!!! on ICE.

In episode seven of Yuri!!! on ICE something major happened… we finally had a clear reference to US national champion and Olympic skater Johnny Weir. 

Not just any reference either. Many characters have embodied aspects of real life skaters as an homage, and Weir’s marriage of technical skating skill and flamboyant aesthetic both on and off the ice looked like it was going to be expressed through hyper-sexualised and somewhat problematic comedy character Christophe Giacometti. In episode seven, however, we saw a flashback to Victor wearing a version of Weir’s swan costume from the 2006 Olympics with a crown of flowers, as seen on Weir in the 2010 Olympics.

looks like young Victor in YOI episode 7 was an homage to @JohnnyGWeir #yurionice pic.twitter.com/YUdF400Anx

— ji@宗介先輩!!!ON ICE✨⛸⛸ (@soukatsu_) 16 November 2016

Since starting this site I’ve heard various forms of “Anime fandom is inclusive enough already!” and “Anime fans are discriminated against too!” Right now we’re getting a glimpse of how far anime fandom has to go before becoming truly inclusive, how privilege is a problem within fandom as much as outside it. Queer fans are expected to expend their time and energy ensuring their experiences are not erased by a fandom that claims to be inclusive. Heterosexual viewers hold this expectation from a position of privilege, without any similar burden of proof.   

These expectations of queer anime fans are in line with the types of microaggressions in which straight people demand LGBTQ+ people perform their identity before it will be acknowledged. These include transgender people being asked about the state of their genitals, sceptical comments that a gay person "doesn't seem gay", or the assumption that bisexual people are less queer when they are with a partner of the opposite sex. Out of sight, out of mind, and if queer people don’t show you their queerness then maybe they’re not actually queer, right? If we didn’t physically see Victor and Yuri’s lips touching then how can we possibly know it happened? 

In this light, queer relationships can never be presented as art; they must always be presented as evidence. In Hays Code Hollywood it was enough to show a man and a woman smoking in a bedroom, and in 1997 everyone understood that a handprint on a steamed up window meant Jack and Rose were having sex, but no such visual shortcuts are permitted for gay pairings. Victor’s arm obscuring where his lips meet Yuri’s cannot possibly be an artistic decision; either we see them kiss or there was no kiss. Disagree? Prove it. Never mind that obscuring a kiss is completely consistent with the show's storytelling style so far, leaving deliberate information gaps and inviting viewers to read between the lines. Pics or it didn’t happen.

Since the episode aired I have seen raw, vulnerable reactions from LGBTQ+ fans openly stating how deeply it affected them to see queer subtext made text, how they hoped it would be seen by young people who aren’t yet old enough to feel comfortable with their identities, how much seeing such a moment would have meant to them at that age. Why on earth would anyone in our fandom actively seek to reduce such an impact?

On the plus side, it’s only episode seven and their relationship has been progressing steadily. Straight viewers demanding indisputable evidence of gayness may not have to wait long before getting exactly what they asked for. A prediction, though: even if such evidence shows up, these people's most common responses will be less "Guess I was wrong, good for you!" and more "Looks like they ruined a decent anime just to pander to fujoshi/SJWs”. Anime fandom is not as inclusive as anime fans want to believe it is, and the sooner we acknowledge this the more effectively we can work to address it.