In an effort to build a space for queer people like myself, every Tuesday I’ll be posting opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx/WOC community since I am Latinx.) Welcome to Queerly Not Straight! Enjoy and leave a comment below if you have a suggestion for what I should cover next.
There is power in acknowledging a TV characters sexuality. It normalizes the unknown for people who have never experienced a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans lifestyle and who fear it. It shows these people that we live, love, and grow along the same lines as they do. And acknowledging a beloved characters sexuality also allows those who fear or don’t understand who they are, to finally feel like they are accepted and represented in a medium and world they love.
Dominique Provost-Chalkley, the actress who plays Waverly Earp on Wynonna Earp, knows who her character is and what she represents. And that angel of a badass is bisexual. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Yes, she’s on a spectrum. Yes, everything’s not black and white, we can all accept that one. But that’s the beauty of bisexuality. It is a spectrum full of greys that Dominique understands, promotes, and takes great honor in portraying while playing Waverly.
Now the show, Wynonna Earp, is another thing. Sometimes, and I mean multiple times, Wynonna Earp has avoided labeling Waverly as a bisexual. The show wants us to take what we need and connect to her in a way that feels real to us. That’s great and all but not saying that Waverly is bisexual is harmful, especially when multiple people have called Waverly a lesbian in the show itself without a problem, basically nullifying what Wynonna Earp says about us “getting what we need from the character” and “not putting labels on her.”
Waverly Earp is not a lesbian.
Waverly Earp is a bisexual.
And sometimes it makes me wonder if the show, and not the actress, are afraid of the word bisexual or the fact that they created a bisexual character. By all standards, Waverly goes against the grain when it comes to bisexual characters on TV. She’s in a committed relationship, is not hyper sexual, and doesn’t seem to want to party and be a wild child every chance she gets. Typical bisexual stereotype bullshit is flipped the bird on Wynonna Earp when it comes to the bisexual babe known as Waverly Earp. So why not celebrate this?
There’s power in accepting and shouting from the rooftops while aiming your weapon at a demon with your bae at your side, like in episode 1 of season 3, that Waverly Earp is a bisexual woman. We already know that this show is dedicated to breaking stereotypes and smashing glass ceilings. Acknowledgement of Waverlys bisexuality would show that Wynonna Earp is continuing their commitment to creating a wide range of characters that flip the bird to everyone who doesn’t think that these characters have value or can be even real. Instead of doing this, Wynonna Earp is in this murky grey where we know that Waverly likes women and men, but we still call her a lesbian because that’s more convenient and easier to write. It’s safe, boring, and kind of bullshit for a show that has always pushed boundaries.
Wynonna Earp writes about demons, angels, magical trees that make you lick potatoes, but acknowledging that Waverly is a bisexual woman is too much? It’s too hard? It’s too inconvenient? I call bullshit. It’s easy. It’s there. And it takes but two seconds to make female and male bisexual viewers feel accepted and like their stories and lives are worth being acknowledged.
Bisexuals make up a significant portion of the LGBT community but it’s because of shows like this (which I love but can still acknowledge has some problematic behaviors) that we are ignored and seen as magical creatures of myth and legend. We are real. We deserve to be acknowledged. And we deserve to hear and see that Waverly Earp is a bisexual who heals, fights, loves, and everything in between. Just to clarify, I’m not advocating for a Wayhaught breakup in any shape, way, or form. Nicole Haught is Waverly Earps lobster.
What I’m asking for is acknowledgement in the TV show that Waverly Earp is a badass angel who just so happens to be a bisexual in a committed relationship. I want to be seen and see myself in her character. I want other bisexuals to feel the same acknowledgment and acceptance that I do. And I want others viewers, queer or not, to know that we bisexuals are real, are worthy of being celebrating, and not as scary as TV and movies make us out to be.
Queerly Not Straight posts every Tuesday with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community (and occasionally about the Latinx community since I am Latinx.)
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