I disliked by accident Σ(っ°Д °;)っ
I totally agree. People have been trying to squash gender stereotypes for so long, gay/straight stereotypes too. But then I see this or the discussion in Blue Period or even Persona 4 still going on today where people are (knowingly or unknowingly) upholding those same stereotypes. I'm so confuzed (o~0||)
I agree to an extent. This story is about a gay man struggling with shame over his feminine interests and personality, and that shame stems from a society that doesn’t normalize men liking these things. Equating men with feminine interests to being trans oversimplifies things and saying things like "Oh, that must mean they’re actually a woman" ignores how diverse humans identities and experiences are. Everyone should be free to enjoy what they love without having their identity questioned.
That said, the story IS unclear about Sakura’s gender identity. Yousuke has multiple thoughts about Sakura like "His rooms like a girls" and "I don’t know if this is just having girly interests or being a girl" and "he’s been a girl this whole time". These are lines intentionally added by the author and even by the end of the story Yousuke seems to consider Sakura as a girl. Sakura also said "I feel like a princess, that makes me happy" and he enjoyed being called a princess by Yousuke throughout the story. There was more dialogue like that too, so I can see why some would interpret Sakura as trans, and the author just added to the confusion and ambiguity of the character, but maybe that was the intention. Regardless, the trans assumptions definitely aren't out of nowhere or solely because of his feminine interests.
Preach!! 100% agree
I know far too many feminine gay men who are proudly men for y’all to camp in this comment section, misgender a character with your whole chest, and not see anything wrong with it. The only justification offered seems to be that he likes cute, “feminine” things and once expressed wishing he were a “girl” so he could be more accepted in a binary country and society like Japan. Do y’all hear yourselves? Are we seriously equating someone’s preferences or self-expression with their gender identity?
Let’s pause and reflect—do we agree or disagree that being a woman is defined by liking certain things or behaving in a specific way? Are we still clinging to outdated ideas of a rigid binary, or do we accept that identity and expression exist on a spectrum? Y’all have to choose. Let’s not reduce people to stereotypes. If everyone thought like y’all, I’d have to pack my bag and stop being a woman because, like all of you all, I’m not a stereotype.
Y’all are a confusing lot.