This whole “I need someone to identify with” shit is ridiculous. I am straight, but I can still identify with lesbians on TV because we have the same interests, we make the same decisions, etc. Even though I’m a woman, I can identify with men on TV for the same reasons, similar interests, similar decisions, etc. The fact that a character doesn’t have your exact sexuality so you can’t identify with them makes you seem very close minded.
I am Indian. I don’t scream “OMG MAKE THE DOCTOR INDIAN BECAUSE I CANT IDENTIFY WITH HIM!” That’s just silly. I have a mini rex bunny. I don’t scream “THIS CHARACTER NEEDS A PET BUNNY BECAUSE I CANT IDENTIFY WITH HIM/HER!” It’s RIDICULOUS.
Why is identifying with a character even that important? I watch TV shows for entertainment, not as a way to find someone just like me. I like being unique. I understand how some people can feel “alone” without a TV character like them, but there are plenty of people just like you in real life, or on the internet. You can find anyone just like you.
Not being able to identify with a character solely because he/she isn’t asexual, transexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, pansexual, gender binary, etc. just shows that your sexuality is the only personality piece you have.
I love the person who submitted this
This is exactly my view on this, I mostly relate to male characters of varying races, rarely female ones and usually because of similarities in personality, humour experiences and outlook etc, the rest is just window dressing.
If “You can’t be what you can’t see” held true then we would have accomplished literally nothing as a species. Also blind people would never do anything at all.
Say you’re listening to a radio programme and a character has similar experiences and responses to yours (or how you’d like to be), views you share, communicates them perfectly and just the right kind of humour and you feel a connection but you stop yourself. Wait a second. Does this character look like me? Do they prefer to have relationships with people of their own gender? No? Then scrap that, I can’t identify with them at all!
Really you could identify with literally anyone in some way. Especially when you include such insignificant and mundane aspects like their appearance or choice in partners.
A character is not defined by what they are, but who they are. This is why I hate seeing posts about racism in animation.