OMG!!!
Can open!
Worms everywhere!!!
akronnick-
I think you're too quick to use the word "homophobic" here. Seriously-
Do you really think people are dismayed because Tai is a girl who might show Marigold new avenues?
Have you REALLY come to expect that here?
Maybe it's just my perspective on things, but I don't see this as a homosexual-oriented thing, but from the viewpoint of a vulnerable person (Marigold) who is JUST starting to emerge from her shell and socialize with people suddenly being alone with someone who is, quite frankly, a terrible human being.
Again,
It's not because Tai is gay.
It has nothing to do with her homosexuality.
It has everything to do with the fact that Tai has absolutely no problem using people for her own selfish purposes, breaking up relationships, and in general doing whatever she feels like doing no matter the human cost for others.
Is that what you think she's doing?
What I see her doing is exploring a shared interest with someone she's acquainted with, leading to a nice dinner conversation and an invitation back to her new friends place. Tai's not going after her because she's naive or inexperienced or because she might be easy. If Tai were taking advantage of Marigold's inexperience, that would be predatory, and I wouldn't approve of that. But Tai is just going with the flow here, being spontaneous, and trying to expand her own social circle. A while ago she was saying that she couldn't find anyone in her current circle that was interested in a serious relationship with her, so she steps out of that circle and suddenly she's a predator?
Tai
never seriously wanted to break Marten and Dora up so that she could sleep with Dora. She was attracted to Dora because of her solid relationship with Marten, which made her (Tai) uncomfortable, so she joked about breaking them up to diffuse that bit of tension. Has anyone who seriously tried to get someone to cheat on them ever done it right in front of their partner?
The reason this seems like homophobia to me is because many people are reacting like "Marigold, get away from Tai! Don't you know you might catch TEH GAY!?!?! Run!!!!!"
While that may not rise to the level of Arkansas school board homophobia, It's homophobia nevertheless. It is precisely BECAUSE I expect more from the netizens of this board that I'm calling it as I see it.
Too many people treat the characters (and by extension, real people who are similar to the characters) as if they can be defined entirely by whatever stereotype best fits them. Jeph's characters are much less one-dimensional for this to be a reasonable position.
And while It may be possible that I am letting my feelings about unrelated real world current events,
Fucking John Boehner!!! I stand by my point of view.
Tai has done nothing wrong by hitting on Marigold.
Marigold is a human being who needs to learn to make her own choices.
And Dora wouldn't have done either of them any favors by intervening.
Addenedum: (6 new replies)
Goddamit people, This Dick-broom is wearing out faster than I can type!
I don't have time to respond to every individual statement, but if you find yourself thinking "I'm not being Homophobic, am I?" you might want to think some more (and that's all I'm going to say about that)
And my non-specific response to the Marigold
is clueless crowd is thus:
Of course she's clueless, she has no experience! She can't learn to not be clueless unless the takes a risk or two, gets embarrassed and *gasp* get's her heart broken!
It's something she needs to learn, and the only way to really learn it is the hard way.
Yes, everyone else in the cast (except Hanners) learned this stuff in junior high, but that doesn't mean that since Marigold missed it then, that she can get off without learning the hard lessons sooner or later. (and as having had my first homosexual encounter when I was thirty, believe me, the sooner the better!)
addendum #2 (3 new replies)
One more point before my dick-broom falls completely apart:
People are comparing Tai to Sven, and that they equally disapprove of both, what that works out to is this:
Sven is (or was) a cad. Tai is a lesbian. Dora disapproves of cads, therefore she should....
Yep, no homophobia at the end of that sentence.
Addendum #3 (2 new replies)
I'm posting this as is no matter how many new replies and I'll respond to further discussion later, when I'm not trying to clarify what I said earlier, and I have a UBMEOD that isn't completely worn out. (and after I've thoroughly studied any and all online thesaurus entries for the word completely!)