GigglySnickerDoodle

An opinion is a person's belief or view on a particular matter. It can be positive, negative, or neutral. The negative or hate comments are a form of opinion

Calm down there with the name-calling. The people who aren't jumping for joy at the news of a celebrity's "marriage" aren't monsters. They're allowed to have their opinions

Sex is determined by chromosomes and anatomy

"Intersex" individuals are either male (a man) or female (a woman). The failure of doctors to properly identify the sex of "intersex" individuals isn't an argument against the reality of sex. It's an argument for better medical practices

Everyone judges. Judgment, when exercised in a thoughtful manner, is an essential component of critical thinking and discourse. To denounce judgment altogether is impossible and detrimental to our ability to engage in meaningful, productive discussions

If gay entertainment were propaganda, it'd be the worst recruitment tool, since most people are still homophobic and terrified of rainbows and same-sex handholding. Straight media is the real propaganda machine

We didn't ask for your input either, keep your pathetic little feelings to yourself

Oh dear, a gay character! Quick, alert the church elders and hide the children from the "horrors" of ... gasp ... representation!

Straight stories have saturated the media landscape for as long as stories have been told. Even children's cartoons are awash with their messaging. If anything is getting old and tired, it's the straight agenda

Freedom of speech doesn't "protect" you from the consequences of your words. You exercised your freedom of speech to spew homophobic rhetoric, we're exercising our freedom of speech to call you out on it

Freedom means everyone gets to enjoy gay stories without someone like you barging in and spoiling the party. Use your freedom to turn off your TV, close your eyes, or invest in a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. That freedom doesn't extend to censoring gay stories or depriving others of their freedom to enjoy gay stories. The censorship of gay stories to appease your homophobic demands is a morally bankrupt, shameful act

"Sex scenes" often serve no purpose beyond titillation. They are inserted to pander to the basest instincts of the audience without consideration for their narrative significance or thematic resonance. Different levels of explicitness don't make one type of sex scene "porn" and another "not porn"

If I post a video of a cat yawning on PornHub, is it "porn for cat lovers?"

The Handmaiden's lesbian scenes having ended up on porn sites is a non-issue. The movie isn't defined by where its clips are shared. Enjoy it for what it is

There's no difference between "sex scenes" and "porn." Both are designed to entertain and titillate the audience. Criticizing one type of sex scene as being more "porn-y" than another is ridiculous

"... probably why they are featured on every porn site"

How do you know that the sex scenes in "The Handmaiden" are featured on every porn site? Have you been spending a lot of time on porn sites?

You're projecting your issues onto the lesbian sex scenes

That the gay storyline wasn't the main focus of the narrative makes the decision to cut it out all the more illogical. If it weren't important, producers wouldn't feel the need to remove it

A world where all straight stories have been transformed into gay-themed masterpieces is the gay-topia of my dreams

Why do you throw out gay subplots like yesterday's garbage?

"Even in my European country, there never was a series with queer lead/main couple story"

Homophobia isn't an ancient creature from the past that's been slain and mounted on a wall, it's alive and well in every corner of the globe. And removing a gay subplot lets that homophobia win. Front and center or a flutter of the heart in the background, gay stories matter and deserve to be told. If they occupy a small portion of the overall narrative, there's no reason to censor or remove them. It's more reasonable to ask homophobes to skip or not engage with them

It was sex and romance. The physicality of the bed scenes was a manifestation of the emotional bond between the female characters

"... but I think in terms of a story where reclaiming a sense of sexual autonomy"

You've expressed my thoughts perfectly. The claims about the length and explicitness of the lesbian sex scenes are subjective. People like @Kbeauty don’t consider how other people might find value in them. They weren’t simply "porn" or a "salacious" spectacle for the male gaze, but a defiant act of love and resistance; a way of reclaiming female sexuality that still disrupts or shatters the dominant heteronormative gaze uncomfortable with same-sex intimacy

The scenes exist as a representation of "freedom." Society denies gay people and couples the right to freely express their desires. The unrestrained intimacy of two women or two men defies the tyranny of societal expectations. The viewer’s gratification is beside the point, as the existence of such scenes is already a revolutionary act of visibility

All forms of media, including "straight" media, exist for the pleasure of the viewers. The artistic merit of gay or lesbian sex scenes shouldn’t be undermined simply because they elicit a sensual response from or please the viewers

Pardon me for being blunt. "The Glory" wasn't the masterpiece people make it out to be. The revenge storyline was weak. The "sex" scenes were ... no. The affair didn't need to be rubbed in my face, it could've been implied. When you name something "The Glory," you set the bar high. That drama didn't even clear the first hurdle. It was "The Meh," falling woefully short of its grandiose title from the 1st episode

Friends can have differing opinions :P It's possible that the homophobia of the omegaverse genre is unintentional, arising from the unconscious biases of its authors and consumers. They aren't aware of it

Stories featuring alpha-alpha, alpha-beta relationships exist, but they're outnumbered by alpha-omega ones. Alphas are expected to pair with omegas. The alphas that don't follow the alpha-omega hierarchy face societal disapproval. To maintain the narrative expectation, authors often introduce omega-like characteristics in the beta or additional alpha characters. For example, in "Kill My Love," an alpha forcibly bites and transforms a beta into something similar to an omega

Alpha, beta, omega characters don't identify with sexual orientation labels of "straight," "gay," or "bi." Their relationships are more defined by hierarchical roles and pheromones

"When at last, Ji Wook decides to undergo a sex change"

I believe that sex can't be "changed," "assigned" or "reassigned." The term "sex change/reassignment" is a misnomer. A man undergoing these surgeries will not become a woman. He will still be a man, one who will appear more feminine

"He undergoes a sex reassignment surgery which completely transforms him into a gorgeous woman"

I believe sex isn't something that can be "assigned" or "reassigned." A man undergoing these surgeries will not become a woman. He will still be a man, one who will appear more feminine

Please stop finger-pointing at BL fans for the current dismal rating. Most of us have better things to do than maliciously drive down the rating of a thoughtfully constructed non-romantic drama. I personally gave it a 9/10 for now, out of my appreciation for its mystery elements and stunning cinematography

We should focus on boosting the overall score. Start giving the drama, as well as its individual episodes, high ratings

It's not the reason

People aren't rating this non-romantic drama poorly because it's not a BL. They have other reasons. I'm a BL fan, but I understand that non-romantic, mystery storylines have their unique merits and should be appreciated for what they are