Guest blog post from Matt Johnson -
First of all I’d like to make one thing clear. I am well aware that Kate as a character and Kana as a couple divide opinion but whatever side of that you are on, I’d ask to you put that to one side when you read this post as this isn’t about a character, or a ‘ship’, it’s about so much more than that. It’s about how a group of people has been made to feel by the scenes last night which saw Kate attempt to seduce Adam. While I am not a part of the LGBT community myself, I have many friends that are and I care about the community, seemingly more than Corrie do.
As well as Adam’s line ‘I’ll try not to get excited,’ playing to hugely damaging stereotypes about lesbians being a pervy male fantasy, they also retconned Kate’s entire history for the sake of supposed drama. From the day Kate first arrived on the cobbles, she has been an out and proud lesbian and had mentioned on at least two separate occasions that she has always been completely sure of who she is. Now she’s suggesting that her best kiss had been with a guy. Then there is her saying that she was only with Rana because she ‘liked the challenge’. I don’t even know where to begin with the problems with that.
Not only this, but it played on another very harmful stereotype that a lesbian will seduce a man in the right circumstances, in this case through being drunk. They won’t. Lesbians have no sexual interest in men in any circumstances. The show can try to justify this by the fact it was made clear how uncomfortable Kate was or the fact she was acting irrationally out of grief, but they could have shown that grief in so many different ways, they did not have to go down this route, but they chose to.
Since Kate and Rana’s storyline began I have seen many stories on social media of people who, thanks to the storyline, have felt able to come out to their families. Even when they haven’t it has at least enabled them to accept themselves. After what happened last night, I saw many young LGBT women say they felt invalidated. There is also young girls who are watching who are struggling to figure out or accept their sexuality, what kind of message does this send out to them? Corrie likes to show themselves to be caring about social issues, but on this one they have let people down very badly
By Matt Johnson
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9 comments:
I understand your viewpoint. But also I ask this. Why should the LGBT community be different when it comes to Corrie. They step on people from every walk of life for the sake of a story. It is just life. If I go to that show to see what is the acceptable or norm in life I would be greatly disappointed.
People are people...and with that said...there are times when people do behave in a way that is inexplicable to others, no matter what label people in society may put on them. I think this is no different than other stories that Corrie does.
It is a soap....plain and simple...they go for the drama. They go for the reaction.
Being Canadian, if I were to base my impressions of working class Manchester upon Corrie, I would conclude it was a nation of serial killers, teen moms and juvenile forty-somethings who cannot commit to a monogamous relationship. The way Sunita was changed from likable shop girl to street slut was not an indictment of Hindu women, Kirsty did not speak for Black women's aggression and neither does this speak for lesbians. What it indicates is lazy writing from a cheaply made British soap.
Anyone remember a staunch gay, Marcus, in a relationship with Maria. LGBT are not a confused bunch of people!
In no way has this "retconned" anything. Kate is not bisexual, Kate is a lesbian - as she always has been. Willingness to have sex with a man does NOT turn someone from lesbian to bisexual, I actually find that idea quite offensive. Kate identifies as a lesbian and would have received no sexual pleasure from a sexual experience with Adam, it was completely motivated for her desire to have a child.
This has nothing to do with storylines featuring serial killers and teen mums. This scene was dangerous and harmful for peoples' perception of both lesbians and bisexuals. Kate went from giving Rana 'some space' to seducing Adam in the SAME EPISODE, but I will forgive Corrie for that as it happens all the time with straight characters.
The fact that Kate & Rana have a huge fanbase means that Corrie should've put more thought into this scene. Rana's sexuality has never been explicitly mentioned and so the bisexual representation in Corrie is shockingly low, which is surprising for a soap. It was appalling that Kate said she was with Rana because she 'enjoyed the challenge' and this conversation between the lesbian and the lawyer probably confused/misguided a lot of ignorant and uneducated viewers.
I see where you're coming from, but Kate didn't seduce Adam or change her sexuality because she was drunk. She was acting out of her mad obsession to have a child. She clearly hated every second of it.
It was all pretty much explained in the final scene with her and Rana. Rana asked Kate if she was bisexual now. Kate said she wasn't; she didn't want Adam Barlow, she just wanted a baby. So even if there were some confused viewers who wondered if Kate was questioning her sexuality, it was clarified within the same episode.
Mybe it's time to stop watching
As I was viewing that episode, all I could think was "stupid Kate". She was LYING to Adam about everything. Rana wasn't a challenge; she most likely never kissed a male, and she most definitely is not bi. She was lying to a possible sperm donor end of. This scene was not harmful to the LGTB community nor did it give off mixed messages. The only thing it did was highlight a Corrie writers obsession with baby crazed females. It makes me dislike Kate's character even more than I have been. She obviously is coocoo crazy and was most likely the reason her first partner went off the deep end. Please end this story line quick as.
Kate is not crazy - she is a spoiled brat - who has been indulged all of her life. Remember when she first came on the show...wasn't she still a teen and yet her family was encouraging a quick marriage to her girlfriend. Why did they not try to talk her into taking her time, discover herself, live her life a little.
She is crazed in that she wants things and she wants them now.
As for Rana...maybe she is bisexual. Wasn't she a girl with a past when she got involved with (forget his name) her husband.
I think we can tie ourselves in knots if we look to Corrie - a tv show - to be the compass for anyone's moral highground. lol
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