Gayngst: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Despite the [[Have a Gay Old Time|traditional meaning]] of the word "gay," homosexual characters tend to be a miserable lot, and not by simple coincidence - their misery can be attributed largely to their sexuality or, more accurately, other people's attitudes towards it. In short, they don't just have angst, they have ''gayngst''.

 

 

 

 

Gayngst is often found in the [[Boys Love]] and [[Girls Love]] works for obvious reasons.

 

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Girl Friends]]'' in particular loves this trope. {{spoiler|It does eventually get fulfilled, though.}}

* ''[[Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl]]'' leans toward this in the beginning, but soon changes gears into a rather straightforward [[Love Triangle]], despite all participants being girls. Also notable is the signs of transgender angst with Hazumu in episode/volume one before the [[Gender Bender]] as well as in flashbacks.

* In the ''[[No Bra]]'' manga, Masato is constantly torturing himself over his awakening feelings for his childhood friend, Yuki. The fact that [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|Yuki looks and acts like a cute girl]] ''and'' is obviously in love with Masato makes matters even more complicated. {{spoiler|Masato finally gives in to his feelings later on though}}.

* Seems like [[Name's the Same|characters named Shiori]] usually bring the gayngst along with them:

** In the manga ''[[Hanjuku Joshi]]'', closeted lesbian Ran harbours a deep unrequited love for her best friend Shiori, who is happily [[Oblivious to Love|oblivious]] to the other woman's pining and desire for her.

** Shiori in ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' is the best fremeny of Juri, who is a closeted lesbian and has been in love with her since they were young. [[Master of the Mixed Message|Whether or not]] Shiori is [[Selective Obliviousness|aware of this]] just adds to Juri's misery. (Of course, [[It Got Worse|it gets worse]] in the movie ... )

*** In the manga this seems to be mostly averted at first, until the chapter in which Yukino visits her parents and decides to bring her girlfriend Setsuko along.

* Most of the time Shuichi from ''[[Gravitation]]'' is comfortable with being in love with another guy. Occasionally though, he really gets hit hard with Gayngst and worries quite a bit that his relationship with Yuki is doomed because they're both male.

* In ''[[Finder Series]]'', [[Uke|Akihito]] angsts for a while after being raped by [[Seme|Asami]] and (maybe) [[Victim Falls For Rapist|enjoying it]].

* ''[[Prism (manga)|Prism]]'' has Hikaru depreciating herself over her crush on Megu in chapter 2.

* In [[Boys Love Genre]] ''[[FAKE]]'', much of the [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]] and [[Will They or Won't They?]] derives from Ryo having trouble accepting his attraction to his very forward partner [[Chivalrous Pervert|Dee]]. {{spoiler|It takes Ryo 2 years to sort his feelings out and finally reciprocate Dee's feelings. Yet he still continues to worry how other people, mainly Bikky, will feel about his homosexual relationship with Dee.}}

* Misaki and Kawabata in ''[[Hana no Mizo Shiru]]''. Misaki wonders why he can't be attracted to women instead of men at the end of Chapter 8, and why, if he's going to fall for men, he was born a man himself. Losing Kawabata and, in his mind, Arikawa to women really hurt him (what he doesn't realize is that Arikawa already broke up his girlfriend in Chapter 5). Then there's Kawabata, who left Misaki and got a girlfriend because he knew a relationship with an underaged boy was not socially acceptable. {{spoiler|In Chapter 11 his true feelings for Misaki come out, and at the end of the chapter, he cancels he and his girlfriend's wedding preparations over the phone. He says he can "think for himself" now.}}

 

* Karolina Dean of Marvel's ''[[Runaways]]'' has a crush on her [[Incompatible Orientation|straight best friend Nico]], made out with a guy she'd just met [[I Just Want to Be Normal|because she wanted to feel "normal"]], and tried to commit [[Suicide by Cop|suicide by proxy]]. However, the fact that she's an alien and that her parents are supervillains probably adds to her angst.

* Renee's ex-girlfriend Katherine "Kate" Kane (a.k.a. [[Batwoman]]) had her own issues. [[Military Brat|The daughter of two career soldiers]], when her mother and twin-sister were killed during her childhood kidnapping Kate's sole dream was to follow in her parents' foot-steps in the army and somehow make a ''difference''. Accepted to the Military Academy at West Point, Kate actually became Cadet Captain and, in the estimation of her instructors, would go on to become a high-ranking, well-respected officer once she graduated...until rumors regarding her sexuality began to circulate around the campus. Army regulations require the discharge of any solider confirmed to be homosexual, and Kate's [[Honor Before Reason|refusal to lie about herself]] resulted in her being "[[Unusual Euphemism|separated]]" from the army, ending the only dream she has had since she was ten years old. It is only once she sees [[Batman]] after a hapless individual [[Mugging the Monster|attempts to steal her wallet]] that she sets a ''new'' goal for herself, and even then she still needs to deal with the criticism and rejection of her "family" and "friends" (pretty much everyone but her dad) from high-society.

** And then there's the Silhouette, who was kicked out of the Minutemen upon being outed, and Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis, who are strongly implied to have been secretly lovers. [[Bury Your Gays|All three are dead or missing]] [[Posthumous Character|before the story begins.]]

** Ozymandias is speculated to be gay by a few characters, and there are hints backing this up in the film version. While he doesn't seem particularly angst-filled, we learn later on that he's at least unhappy enough to be {{spoiler|pretty okay with mass-murder.}}

* Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan of the ''[[Young Avengers]]'', used to get bullied at school for being gay. Other than that, he and his boyfriend, Hulkling, avert this trope. None of their teammates seem to be fazed by their relationship, and Billy's parents are positively ''thrilled'' with it.

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' is by far the most famous example of this trope from recent years.

* {{spoiler|Col. Fitts}} from ''[[American Beauty]]'' is particularly disturbing example of a self-loathing closet case.

* Gayngst would account for much of Kirill's issues in ''[[Eastern Promises]]'', along with being the son of a crime boss. He's a vicious, pitiful, self-loathing drunk, and very attached to Nikolai.

* In ''[[Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe]]'', Prudence experiences this throughout the movie (the cover of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" practically screams this trope). In fact, she goes as far as to cover it up by getting herself a boyfriend who beats her, which then intertwines her into the lives of the other main characters.

* Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale's character) in ''[[Velvet Goldmine]]'' goes through a lot of this.

* Father Greg (Linus Roache) in the controversial ''Priest'' has this in spades.

* ''[[Bent]]'' was about a gay man posing as a Jewish man learning to come out of the closet while in a concentration camp.

* In ''Les roseaux sauvages'' (''Wild Reeds''), set in 1962, a 17-year-old boy realizing he's gay says "It's like a curse. I don't know why I'm landed with it." His female best friend tells him that a shoe salesman they know is living happily with his boyfriend.

* In ''[[Ma Vie en Rose]]'', a 7-year-old gender variant boy with a crush on another boy is misunderstood at every turn, tries to butch it up, fails, feels miserable and attempts suicide.

 

== Literature ==

* Andrew Holleran's novel ''Dancer From The Dance''.

* In Sarah Waters's novel ''[[Tipping the Velvet]]'', Kitty Butler suffers from this. Notably averted with most of Waters's other heroines, who deal with their lesbianism surprisingly well, given that most of them are [[Victorian Britain|Victorian women]].

*** The recent film adaption said "Screw Ambiguity!"

* Averting this is half the point of ''[[Annie on My Mind]]'', which ends [[Earn Your Happy Ending|well.]]

{{quote|But don't worry. This isn't one of those angst-filled books where I'm struggling to come to terms with what it all means. I've long since accepted it. I'm gay. I'm over it. There will be no endless, teary-eyed, internal dialogues. No tormented, sleepless nights. I am 100 percent at ease with who I am.}}

** It's debatable whether Bryan is really as well-adjusted as he pretends to be. Meanwhile, his [[Camp Gay|extremely flamboyant]] acquaintance, Marq, is out and proud despite having once been the victim of a gay bashing. {{spoiler|Bryan's main love interest spends most of the series deep in the closet, however.}}

* Francesca Lia Block often addresses this in her novels, notably with Dirk and Duck in ''[[Weetzie Bat]]'', Griffin in ''I Was A Teenage Fairy'', and most recently Pace in ''The Frenzy''.

* Basil Hallward in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]''.

 

== Live Action TV ==

'''Old Woman''': 'Cause most of us have more shame than pride. }}

* Riley from ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' hit on his best friend, then threatened to beat him up if he ever told anybody. Then he started popping steroids, believing it would turn him straight. He eventually came [[Canada, Eh?|oot]] almost by mistake by signing himself and Zane up for prom couple which was posted [[Everything Is Online|online]].

* Nathan in the British (original) ''[[Queer as Folk]]'' was having a bit of a teenage Gayngst moment, when his best friend neatly deflated him: "I'm black! ''And'' I'm a girl. Try that for a week."

** [[Russell T. Davies]], himself gay, has gone on record about not being the biggest fan of this trope, arguing that it in some ways perpetuates gay shame both as something experienced by homosexuals and how it is viewed by non-homosexuals, and also because it can be a bit boring, cliched and stereotypical to watch. As such, while most of his works deal with homosexuality and are not entirely free of angst, the characters usually angst about things other than being homosexual.

* ''[[Noah's Arc]]'': In the movie, Brandon goes through this briefly {{spoiler|over a rough coming out to his mother}}.

* When we first meet Jodie in ''[[Soap]]'', he is preparing for a sex change, then attempts to kill himself when his boyfriend dumps him. The show being what it is, his status as "suicidal homosexual" is [[Comedic Sociopathy|played for laughs]] for the remainder of the season.

* Shown on ''[[Cold Case]]'' with the characters of Rose and Jimmy, who have spent more than seventy and forty years respectively in the closet mourning their dead gay lovers.

{{quote|'''Calvin:''' How do you feel about a three-hour long coming out story about a gay boy who is beaten by his preacher father and eventually commits suicide in the closet?

'''Ashley:''' ...sounds depressing.

* Daffyd of ''[[Little Britain]]'' is a parody of this type, as he desperately wants to be perceived as gayngsty, constantly pointing out how horrible and lonely it is to be "the only gay in the village", but not only is it all a facade, his entire community is not only very accepting, but is full to the brim of gay people, including his own brother and his best friend. Daffyd ignores this in hopes of looking more miserable and alone.

** In fact, there are some hints that Daffyd is straight and only pretending to be gay.

* Happens quite a bit to Kurt Hummel on ''[[Glee]]''. He is constantly bullied for his sexuality, his crush is straight, and at one point someone left a threatening phone call at his dad's business. Subtly, the father is initially uncomfortable, and in "Preggers", you can tell that the father tries punishment by removal on his son to cease his flamboyant dressing. However, this trope is also subverted when Kurt comes out to his macho, sports-loving, mechanic father, and he reveals that he's [[Transparent Closet|known since Kurt was three years old]] [[Camp Gay|("all [he] wanted for [his] birthday was a pair of sensible heels")]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|doesn't love him any less for it.]] And throughout these Gayngst plots, Chris Colfer's performance really makes it realistic and heartbreaking. Until the "Never Been Kissed" episode, Kurt has been bearing the bullying.

** In the episode "On My Own", {{spoiler|Karofsky}} gets hit with Gayngst [[Laser-Guided Karma]] full-on. He is outed, gets bullied in his new school and {{spoiler|tries to commit suicide as a result}}.

* ''[[Mad TV]]'' did a skit with Will Sasso as a gay plumber who constantly angsts about how gay he is and accuses his customers of prejudice even though they don't care.

** Sophie Webster and Sian Power are a pair of recently outed lesbians. Claire Peacock outed them in front of the entire street and they ended up running away to get away from gossip. However Sophie's family were actually quite supportive of them once they adjusted so they don't have too much besides the typical teenage angst.

** Sean Tully is a notable aversion, probably because the writers have realised that viewers [[Creator's Pet|won't actually feel sorry for him if anything bad happens to him]].

 

== Music ==

* "Sing If You're Glad To Be Gay" by the Tom Robinson Band.

* "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat.

 

== Theater ==

** This was at a time when [[Cure Your Gays|it was believed homosexuality could be cured]] through psychological analysis.

** It gets pretty bad, actually. None of the homosexual characters in the story ever get to actually have sex, and it's implied they'll all live lonely, celibate, miserable lives. Somewhat justified by the time period the play and film are set in, but still pretty damned depressing.

{{quote|'''Anna:''' You've got a dozen invitations to parties; hop in a cab, have some fun. They'll go on all night.

'''Larry:''' Have you ever been to a gay New Year's Eve Party? [[Bury Your Gays|The suicide rate is higher than all of Scandinavia combined.]] }}

* ''bare: a pop opera'' is all about gayngsty Catholic schoolboys.

* Martha of ''[[The Children's Hour]]'' goes into a terrible crisis and kills herself upon realising she is in love with her friend Karen.

 

== Visual Novels ==

* In ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'', it is revealed that {{spoiler|Misha}} is gay, and made a [[Love Confession]] to her object of affection, {{spoiler|Shizune,}} who rejected the confession (most likely due to [[Incompatible Orientation]]) but offered continued friendship, causing her a great deal of pain, especially when Hisao begins a relationship with {{spoiler|Shizune}}. {{spoiler|Misha}} also implies that she was bullied for being gay in the past.

 

* ''[[Khaos Komix]]'', as a teen drama with a [[Cast Full of Gay]], pretty much runs on this trope: Steve has internalized Jamie's homophobia enough that he wrestles with the idea of being gay; Mark knows his parents have already disowned his brother for, among many other things, his homosexuality; Amber is frightened of the controversy, and her mother, although accepting of Steve and Mark, is less so with Amber, {{spoiler|because she's frightened for her safety...and speaking from experience}}; Nay casually accepts her own bisexuality, but she's seeing Amber; Murfs had a basically pansexual upbringing, but as a child, ran headlong into Jamie's [[Freudian Excuse]], which left him reflexively homophobic until he met Tom; Tom, a transman (by definition, a source of angst in its own right), is afraid of letting Murfs know, much less sleeping with him, for fear of being seen as a woman; and Charlie, a transwoman, has started an outright dangerous relationship with the homophobic Jamie. Still, it looks like the token straight Jamie's story [[Freudian Excuse|might be the angstiest of all]]. Of course, there have also been hints that Jamie [[Armoured Closet Gay|isn't as straight as he claims to be.]]

* Justin from ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' has reason enough to gayngst with the bullying at school and his ex-best friend turning into an aggravating [[Stalker with a Crush]]. However he can also be a little ''too'' eager to have this, as shown by his accusing the others of [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-12-19 leaving him out of the rescue team] because he's gay during the Painted Black arc (shortly before realizing the team consisted of [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|a homosexual, a bisexual]], and a [[Single-Target Sexuality|Teddsexual]]) and his muttering that the universe was [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-11-04 plotting against him] when he was informed of ''Elliot's'' having to [[Gender Bender|turn into a girl]] due to [[Power Incontinence]].

* Vinci from ''[[Vinci and Arty]]'' exhibits this trope often, especially when the couple's more conservative neighbours show off their discontent for the homosexual duo.

 

== Web Original ==

* A major part of the prolecto series. In fact, this trope is why one character goes from "Good" to "Neutral. The story starts here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6721353/

 

== Western Animation ==

** Or maybe he didn't the arranged marriage his family put him through.

 

== Real Life ==

[[Category:Boys Love Tropes]]

[[Category:You Hate What You Are]]