#2: Aug 24th 2015 at 8:45:45 AM
OP failed to prove misuse with evidence.
Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
Total posts: 2
Ambiguously Bi has multiple problems: it seems to have deteriorated into yet another repository for slash shipping headcanons, with numerous very tenuous examples based on popular ships and probably more appropriate for the Ho Yay page. However, the description outright states that "what makes a character Ambiguously Bi, and what differentiates them from Bi the Way characters, is largely a matter of opinion," making it difficult to fairly weed out misuse. It also states that "Characters with a Heterosexual Life Partner are especially prone to this, as while they might have an actual love interest of a different gender the relationship with their HLP often has a romantic/sexual element as well," meaning the trope could technically be applied to any character with a close friendship since what constitutes a "romantic element" is very subjective, especially to fans with shipping goggles firmly in place.
As it currently stands (and as suggested in the discussion), the page should probably be made YMMV. However, I do think the trope has legitimate non-YMMV applications, such as Silva in Skyfall. The best course of action might be tightening up the description to differentiate Ambiguously Bi from both Bi The Way and Ho Yay - maybe clarify that Bi the Way is for characters who are explicitly stated or shown to be bisexual, while Ambiguously Bi is for characters who are never "outed" but whose bisexual tendencies are fairly unmistakable to an observant audience (not just shippers). The Heterosexual Life Partner clause should definitely be axed to rescue the trope from total subjectivity.
edited 15th Feb '15 2:42:04 PM by ombudsloth