Homophobia in Haixing

[extrapenguin]

If I were to write a Guardian fic the point of which was something completely unrelated to homophobia, but which ended with Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan getting a happily ever after, what level of societal homophobia would not throw you out of the story? Would you find it jarring if they dared hold hands in public? If they dared kiss? If they introduced each other as romantic partners in casual-ish conversation without too much euphemism? Their nearest and dearest would know, and marriage wouldn't be on the table anyway, but ... what is the range of attitudes that wouldn't have the readership's suspension of disbelief come crashing down?

On the one hand, I want this to be happily-ever-after dancing on roses without a cloud in sight; on the other, a lot of the relationship developments of canon make more sense if Haixing is at least somewhat homophobic. So: advice?

Comments

[jo_lasalle]

Then there's also that early-episodes joke where Da Qing complains about the flirting and Lin Jing says "Comrades!" (=slang for "Gays!") and that whole exchange is only funny if it's hilarious to insinuate that your boss is gay.

In a similar vein, the episode with the personality changes had some stuff around Chu, with Shen Wei very seriously saying "he'd rather die than be like this" (effeminate), that gave me a serious cringe on the homophobia front. I really do want to roll with the hilarity of that episode, but I have to engage in some mental gymnastics to take that as not the Occam's Razor reading. (Made worse by the fact that Shen Wei is saying it.)

(It is a little different because it's more part of slapstick than the other one, but it still seems topical.)

[extrapenguin]

In a similar vein, the episode with the personality changes had some stuff around Chu, with Shen Wei very seriously saying "he'd rather die than be like this" (effeminate), that gave me a serious cringe on the homophobia front.
Urgh, yeah, that one! It's a little more forgiving of alternate interpretations (e.g. Dixing having more rigid gender roles?), but it does fit with the rest of the homophobia-must-exist stuff. I guess Dixing isn't a homophobia-free paradise, either.