Last week's episode (4/17) of "Once Upon a Time" (henceforth referred to as OUAT) generated a lot of buzz when it revealed its first same-sex couple: Ruby and Dorothy. The showrunners, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, stated that there would be a LGBT relationship introduced in the fifth season. Three-quarters of the way into the season, they made good on their promise. But does "Ruby Slippers" live up to fans' expectations?
For me, personally, I'm torn. I actually wanted to see a same-sex relationship portrayed on the show, not because I'm gay, but because there really needs to be more diversity. OUAT's entire premise is family, "true love," and "happily ever after," so why are these goals only being accomplished by straight, white characters?
If the point is to "modernize" fairytales, shouldn't they start by broadening the idea of who "true love" can apply to? I think so, and I'm happy the writers and producers did, too! As for the episode itself, it was sweet. Although the "true-love's-kiss-breaks-sleeping-curse" trope has been used way too many times, it's great that they allowed Ruby and Dorothy to actually kiss on the lips instead of kissing on the forehead or cheek.
And after Dorothy wakes up, the two kiss again, more intensely this time:
It's rare that a television show positively portrays female sexuality, let alone sexual attraction between two women, so this is a major step in the right direction. In addition, other characters don't see Ruby's attraction to Dorothy as strange or unnatural; Snow actually encourages her to "follow her heart" and wake Dorothy from the curse, one of the few things she has done right in seasons. In Storybrooke, being gay isn't considered wrong or a big deal. You love who you love, that's it, which is a great message for all the younger viewers of the show.
Unfortunately, some of their bigoted parents don't see it that way. Plenty of outraged adults took to Facebook to complain about the episode. Below are some of their interesting comments.
At first, I was mad, but the more comments I read the more I found the whole "controversy" highly amusing. Over the past five seasons, OUAT has portrayed blood, gore, violence, murder, pre-marital sex, children born out of wedlock, (hetero)sexual innuendos, and cursing. Let me get this straight (pun very much intended): all of what I just listed is completely family-friendly, but when two women kiss, we jump immediately to "OH, MY GOD, SAVE THE CHILDREN'S INNOCENCE" mode.
Indeed, there seemed to be a lot of concern over how to "explain" the kiss to children. Some said their kids were "confused" by it and started asking questions, which they were "too young" to know the answer to. First of all, if the child is old enough to repeatedly watch Regina rip out someone's heart and crush it, they're old enough to see two women kiss each other. If they've never seen a same-sex kiss before, it's natural that they'll be curious and have some questions.
However, instead of dismissing them or trying to avoid the subject, here's an idea: how about you teach them how to accept difference? Just calmly explain that some girls like boys, some girls like girls, and some boys like boys. That's what my dad said to me when I asked what "lesbian" meant while watching "The Subway" episode of "Seinfeld." It was quick, easy, and I didn't have any more questions after that. It's literally that simple.
Furthermore, it's ridiculous to believe that two kisses between women are "promoting the gay agenda." If anything, OUAT has been promoting the heterosexual agenda, and this new relationship is merely a small subversion.
If your children haven't been emotionally scarred by these couples kissing, there's no reason why the Dorothy and Ruby kiss should have some massively traumatic effect. As you can see, they did not do anything that straight couples have not done on this show for seasons. Besides, watching a same-sex kiss won't make your kids gay. I repeat: watching a same-sex kiss won't make your kids gay! After all, gay people have been watching straight people kiss on screen for decades, and that hasn't made them heterosexual. The worst that can come of this story arc is that some worldviews get broadened. Oops, did I say "worst?" I meant "best."
Even within the LGBT community, however, the 'ship's' reveal had mixed reviews. While other heterosexual couples on the show have had multi-episode or multi-season story arcs, Ruby and Dorothy went from acquaintances to soulmates in the course of 42 minutes. The rushed nature of the relationship, although not uncommon for OUAT, makes it feel more like an attempt at placation than representation. Plus, with both women stuck in Oz and, with the season quickly drawing to a close, who knows how many opportunities there'll be to develop the relationship further?
In addition, there were already well-established same-sex 'ships,' albeit fan-created, that have existed since season one. SwanQueen, the 'shipper' name for a romantic relationship between Regina and Emma, was created almost as soon as the show began. When I first heard about this, I thought it was weird. No, not because they're two women, but because Regina is Emma's step-grandmother, and that felt a little too close to incest for my liking.
However, as their relationship developed into a close friendship, I could see a romantic relationship emerging as well. After all, they're two confident, powerful women who already share a son; they'd be perfect. (Mostly, I'd just like to see Hook and Robin gone, but I digress.) Even Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parilla support the pairing; they got matching sweaters!
Cute, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there are any plans for these two to become an item anytime soon. However, earlier on in season five it did seem likely that Mulan and Ruby (MulanRouge) would get together. In fact, some fans claim that Mulan and Ruby make more sense than Dorothy and Ruby, as Mulan had already been established as bisexual. If the writers had been trying to "pander to the gay minority," as angry fans claimed, wouldn't they have tried to make one of these 'ships' come true?
The showrunners claim that their purpose in having a same-sex relationship on the show was to show that "in a fairytale, as in life, love is love." That's a sweet sentiment, but will this new couple actually hold up? Only time will tell.
