Queerness and Kink in the Mirror Universe

Uh-oh! You've just experienced a transporter accident, and now everyone around you looks the same but is acting very strange. Your midriff is exposed, and your coworkers are making aggressive sexual advances. Welcome to the (dun dun dunnn) Mirror Universe. Don't worry, Becca and Ryan are here to hold your hand, while we explore how queerness and kink are used as shorthand for EEEEVIL.  

******Mild Spoiler Alerts for: Star Trek Mirror Universe eps, The Suicide Squad, Stargate SG1, Rick and Morty (S5E5), and Netflix's Bonding.******  

 

What We Watched

More or less, all of the Mirror Universe episodes: see Memory Alpha  

 

Reviews!  

Becca's Review: The Suicide Squad - tl;dr: just don't.  

Ryan's Review: Stargate SG1 - racist! jingoistic! fun!  

 

Queer Villainy  

Opinion: TV producers, stop portraying bisexuals as villains by Zachary Zane via Washington Post  

Many bisexual TV characters lack a moral compass. They exploit their own sexuality as a means to get ahead. They’re also unabashedly shameless in their actions, never having an ounce of remorse. It is as if, for these fictional bisexual characters, sexual fluidity equals moral fluidity. In this regard, sexuality is not seen as an identity, but rather, as a personality trait.

The tropes, as identified by GLAAD (from report WHERE WE ARE ON TV 2015-16)

• bisexual characters who are depicted as untrustworthy, prone to infidelity, and/or lacking a sense of morality
• characters who use sex as a means of manipulation or who are lacking the ability to form genuine relationships
• associations with self-destructive behavior
• and treating a character’s attraction to more than one gender as a temporary plot device that is rarely addressed again  

Why Are So Many Bisexuals On TV Also Sociopaths? by Hannah Harris Green via BuzzFeed.News  

The Trope of the Evil Television Bisexual by Spencer Kornhaber via The Atlantic   

4 Terrible Bisexuality Tropes on TV — And 4 Portrayals That Defy Them by Gillian Brown via The Body is Not An Apology 

Depraved Bisexual via TVTropes  

 

Kink Shaming  

The Generational Clash at Pride Is Actually a Sign of Progress by Spencer Kornhaber via The Atlantic 

Bondage Is Bad & Sex Is Evil via TVTropes

Painful Therefore Pleasurable - Rick and Morty (clip) via YouTube