The funny thing is that the people I know who initially broached the subject and are the most hard core about it are Adam Lambert fans, hence the prohibition of all het fic from that glambertfic comm including the kinds of situations you mention. I've been pushing at the edges of this question for a while but unfortunately they never comment to clarify how they feel about it.
I should say that all the Zach/Zoe fic that I read portrayed Zach as queer and a little confused that he was suddenly into some girl but rolling with it. So even though Quinto hasn't claimed that identity publicly it was by and large maintained in the stories.
With the Gabe Saporta thing, I think a warning would have been good--as it often can be for AUs where people have different assumptions. (For example, if Astolat had been clearer when she wrote that Kradam Regency AU that it was a costume epic/BBC-esque color blind casting story and not trying to be particularly historically accurate, then the people who got so angry with her might have not read the story in the first place. But that whole wank, I don't know, I don't know how much I can be there with them for that one.) So if you as a writer decided to explore something with the full knowledge that you're changing something about the person, that has to be fair game, and those who don't want to see that can avoid it.
Interesting what you say about closet cases and their fans. I think that yes, we can't, as the public, be expected to be respectful of something that hasn't been made public yet. And there is something unseemly about the vehement denials of certain fans of celebs who might be gay--the ClayMates come to mind here--but the air of homophobia doesn't come from the "we don't know that", because that part is true. It comes from the "he can't possibly be gay" because that's a homophobic thing to say; anyone can be gay. Saying "I don't know what their sexuality is because they haven't said anything" isn't being homophobic; you're not saying, "Since they haven't come out they must be straight." But you know, the internet, there can only be two sides, no gray middles please. Also part of this is the ontd culture of being a 'person who knows things' and the skepticism of same.
If an identity is unclaimed, it can't be undermined.
no subject
I should say that all the Zach/Zoe fic that I read portrayed Zach as queer and a little confused that he was suddenly into some girl but rolling with it. So even though Quinto hasn't claimed that identity publicly it was by and large maintained in the stories.
With the Gabe Saporta thing, I think a warning would have been good--as it often can be for AUs where people have different assumptions. (For example, if Astolat had been clearer when she wrote that Kradam Regency AU that it was a costume epic/BBC-esque color blind casting story and not trying to be particularly historically accurate, then the people who got so angry with her might have not read the story in the first place. But that whole wank, I don't know, I don't know how much I can be there with them for that one.) So if you as a writer decided to explore something with the full knowledge that you're changing something about the person, that has to be fair game, and those who don't want to see that can avoid it.
Interesting what you say about closet cases and their fans. I think that yes, we can't, as the public, be expected to be respectful of something that hasn't been made public yet. And there is something unseemly about the vehement denials of certain fans of celebs who might be gay--the ClayMates come to mind here--but the air of homophobia doesn't come from the "we don't know that", because that part is true. It comes from the "he can't possibly be gay" because that's a homophobic thing to say; anyone can be gay. Saying "I don't know what their sexuality is because they haven't said anything" isn't being homophobic; you're not saying, "Since they haven't come out they must be straight." But you know, the internet, there can only be two sides, no gray middles please. Also part of this is the ontd culture of being a 'person who knows things' and the skepticism of same.
If an identity is unclaimed, it can't be undermined.
An excellent way to look at it!