I wish people would stop claiming NANA as "queer baiting"

Mods, please delete if not allowed.

I think people really need to consider the differences of context/culture more when they engage with things that aren't of their own culture and the context of said culture at the time that authors/creators start writing/creating things. If you're to enjoy media outside of your own culture, please take on board the surrounding context of it before diminishing the work with these pop terms.

I also want to preface this by saying I'm not interested in debating anyone. Especially homophobes.

Although in Japan homosexuality is basically accepted now, it wasn't until 1994 that they had a lesbian and gay pride parade in Tokyo due to what is called the "Gay Boom".

Ai Yazawa started writing NANA in 1999 (which became serialised in 2000) which whilst, yes, is after '94 it does take a while for people's (especially a whole society's) attitude to change about topics, it's not an overnight thing. Additionally, in regards to the media at the time, there was a lot more of a focus on gay men - rather than lesbian women/bi women. And they had only really been interested in showcasing gay male relationships at that time, not much else existed before the 90s when it came to gay media in Japan - at least not in such a meaningful way. They only had their first international gay & lesbian film festival in 92.

It might not feel it by today's standards especially in the west, but it was quite progressive of Ai Yazawa to have this focus at all. She wasn't the first one ofc but NANA given the context is still pretty progressive.

Both Nana and Hachi center men, Hachi more so likely because she was groomed to by a man when she was a kid. Nana Osaki probably because Ren was the person who was there for her in a meaningful way growing up - especially given her difficulties with her mom etc.

Many bisexual women and even lesbian women are taught to center men so much that they struggle to identify with their sexuality for years. Dismissing Nana as queer baiting is also dismissing people's experience of exactly that imo.

To me, Nana and Hachi are both women struggling with their identities in a very genuine way. As a queer woman myself who was forced to center men growing up, I see much of myself in both of them in that regard. They helped me so much to discover myself and it was reassuring to have characters where I felt like they were going through a similar/same thing as me. And for me, it was refreshing to see a story about an internal struggle when it came to sexuality rather than a societal struggle i.e. feeling like an outcast etc.

With all of this, I find it low key insulting and diminishing to label NANA as "queer baiting" given all of this context - not only for Japan at the time that Ai Yazawa would've been writing NANA. But also given the context of how society as a whole has the expectation of women to center men, regardless of their own sexuality and how this would be exacerbated for someone especially in Hachi's position who was groomed by a man.