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Mac_R
(Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
12th Jan, 2021 01:57:36 PM
Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?
Edited by Mac_R
I mean, when a character in a work of fiction is intended to be straight but some elements of the work might give the opposite idea, so said character is given a mate of the opposite sex in order to clearly state their preference, BUT the mate has absolutely no relevance in the story other than that. What trope would that be? The Beard, of course, is for fake opposite sex relationships in which at least one of the two is actually gay. Satellite Love Interest is similar or overlapping, but not necessarily including the "beard" factor.
The example I'm thinking of: Jennifer in "Back to the Future". She serves no purpose in the plot of any of the three films whatsoever (she would only become a real character in the Telltale videogame), and even Zemeckis and Gale admitted that if they knew they were going to do sequels, they wouldn't have put her in the Delorean at the end of the first film (of course she's quickly written off in Part II). The only reason to put her in the movie seems to be stating that Marty is heterosexual, and thus definitely not doing anything naughty with Doc's, uh, "flux capacitor"...
(Thank you to troper Primis for the heads-up about the right forum!)