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Homophobes React

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The pilot video Types of Homophobes introduces the four main characters, Karen, Susan, Becky, and Chad.

Continuing into the Homophobes React series, a growing, colorful cast of homophobes are shown reacting to various LGBT+ and homophobic content. Every single homophobe is played by YouTuber FlawlessKevin.

Tropes in this series include:

  • All for Nothing: Becky eventually goes through some major tribulations in the series and subsequently grows as a person. When she comes out as pan to her friends, they don't support her, and her heart is broken when she has to live through the worst nightmare of a lot of queer youth. Afterwards, she's comforted by two gay men, and after being given their support and friendship, she's elated... that she finally has a gay BFF!
  • Armored Closet Gay: Chad's homophobia visibly comes from a place of self-loathing.
  • Bait the Dog: At the very of the pilot, we're introduced to Ken, who tells us that everything's okay, and that he himself is gay. But he quickly informs the audience that he's "not like other gays."
  • Bigotry Before Reason:
    Karen: Chad, the way you held the corn was just a bit too gay for me. Maybe next time don't pass it so flamboyantly?
  • Blatant Lies: When Becky's best friend Heather becomes a main character, she constantly insists that she doesn't care about anyone's sexuality or gender identity, claiming that nobody cares if you're gay or not and therefore there's no need for pride. However, Heather very clearly does care, as she stops being friends with Becky when she comes out as pan.
  • Christmas Episode: Homophobes During the Holidays.
  • Coming-Out Story: Throughout the series, Chad comes to terms with his identity and comes out to his friends and family.
  • Coy, Girlish Flirt Pose: Chad is prone to Eyelash Fluttering and playing with his hair whilst telling gay men not to hit on him.
  • Deconstructed Character Archetype: Gay Best Friend: In the episode "Gay Guy Does Homophobes Makeup!" Kevin's friend Samuel does Becky's makeup. She says she's super excited to have a gay best friend, but he tells her that it really bothers him when she calls him that. She listens, and instead, starts calling him her "6'3" friend" instead.
  • Eagle Land: Where the story is set, as the Gen 2 homophobes include the patriotism-obsessed white nationalists Helen and Mike.
  • Even Bullies Have Standards: In "Homophobes React to Super Straight TikToks," even Ken is horrified and repulsed by the blatant transphobia.
  • Everyone Is Related: Becky and Chad are brother and sister. Karen and Mike are their divorced parents. Susan and John are the maternal grandparents.
  • Evil Wears Black: Heather is the most cold-hearted character in the series, and she wears all black.
  • Expy: When we're introduced to Becky's best friends, it's revealed that they're a raven-haired Alpha Bitch named Heather and a Dumb Blonde named Lindsay. Sound familiar?
  • Fag Hag: Becky really wants to be friends with a gay man.
  • Fairy Tale Motifs: After Chad comes out, fans nicknamed him as a "gay prince" which becomes his nickname in the series itself. Additionally, when his sister comes out, she's dubbed a "pan princess."
  • Fallen Princess: Becky, a shallow and materialistic girly girl, loses everything when Heather kicks her out of the friend group. However, Lindsay eventually stands up for her.
  • Gender Non Conforming Equals Gay: In "Homophobes React To Gender Non-Conforming TikToks," they all seem to think gender non-conformity is an inherently LGBT+ concept.
  • Girl-on-Girl is Hot: Becky's boyfriend Kyle has a creepy lesbian fetish.
  • Good Ol' Boy: When we meet Becky and Chad's father Mike, he's an angry conservative nationalist who wears a red cap and flannel.
  • Grayscale of Evil: Kyle wears hideously clashing black and white patterns.
  • Has a Type: Becky is very attracted to conventional masculinity in people of any gender.
  • The Hecate Sisters: The three women in the original cast––
    • Becky is the maiden, believing unquestioningly in homophobic stereotypes because of her ditzy, youthful naivety.
    • Karen is the mother, believing firmly in the "protect the children" flavor of homophobia.
    • Susan is the crone, resisting any kind of social progress and longing to return to a time before LGBT+ people had any kind of rights.
  • Heteronormative Crusader: Just read the title.
  • Ignoring Sexual Orientation:
    • Kyle has a tendency to hit on lesbian women.
    • When Heather sees a picture of asexual rights activist David Jay, her immediate response is "Daddy."
  • Internalized Categorism:
    Chad: I like the D.
    Ken: But you're not super full of pride and rainbows.
    Ken: What do you mean?
    Chad: Your internalized homophobia is showing.
  • Ironic Echo: Played for Drama: In the pilot, Becky says that she'd love a gay male friend but could never be friends with a lesbian because she couldn't imagine changing clothes in front of one. When she realizes she's pansexual, Heather ends the friendship on that exact rationale.
  • LGBT Awakening:
    • Chad is obviously an Armored Closet Gay from the very first episode, and as the series progresses, he comes to terms with it and comes out of the closet.
    • By watching lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual TikToks, Becky gradually realizes that she herself is pansexual.
    • John admits to having Experimented in College, and he even flat-out states that his love for his wife has nothing to do with her gender, but he hasn't been given a full Coming-Out Story like Chad or Becky.
  • LOL, 69:
"On page 69 of The Bible–"
Susan, in every episode she appears in
  • Manly Gay: Chad is a very conventionally masculine gay man.
  • Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Chad has a romantic subplot with Kevin although things eventually don't work out because of Kevin's gender identity.
  • Moral Myopia: Most blatantly shown in "Homophobes React to Pansexual TikToks."
    Susan: "I just don't understand how you can love all people. That is just repulsive to me. As a Christian lady myself, it says here in the Bible that I should love all people. Oh wait."
  • Musical Theme Naming: "Becky" is slang for a basic white girl,note  which originated with the BeyoncĂ© song Sorry.
  • Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Becky's Girl Posse. Lindsay is nice, Heather is mean, and Becky is in between.
  • Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: Karen certainly lives up to her name.
  • Power Hair: Karen wears a blonde haircut with short, horizontal bangs.
  • Queer Colors: Becky gets her makeup done in the color of the pansexual pride flag.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: Ken seems to think so when presented with the image of a physically affectionate gay couple.
    Ken: Aw, that's– that's adorable. I want that some day. But, um, I just can't imagine, being so... sissy-like.
  • Red Is Violent: Chad's angry conservative unsupportive father Mike wears an all red outfit.
  • Running Gag: The religiously motivated homophobes all believe that Haikyuu!! is The Bible.
  • Sissy Shaming: In the first episode of season 2, Heather and Ken both use the term "sissy" as a pejorative for gay men.
  • Sitcom Homage Episode: Types of Homophobes has a parody sitcom intro that introduces the four main homophobes by name.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Naturally, as they're all related and all played by the same actress.
  • Testosterone Poisoning: Every male character has an excessive fixation on maintaining conventional masculinity.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: John was initially characterized as a hateful old misogynist resentful of any kind of change. However, he slowly becomes much sweeter and more open-minded, and as of his current characterization, the only negative thing he has to say about the concept of being LGBT is that he's disappointed it isn't a BLT with gravy.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Becky loves Chick-Fil-A.
  • Transparent Closet: Chad's attraction to men becomes progressively more obvious as he grows as a person.
  • Unsettling Gender-Reveal: The homophobes in general are really, really bad at discerning the gender of gender non-conforming individuals, and they're frequently horrified upon having it explained to them.
  • Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Every single one of the main characters has some pretty horrible beliefs about all LGBT+ individuals.
  • Viler New Villain: Becky's best friend, Heather. Becky was characterized as shallow, insensitive, and disrespectful, but she never went out of her way to hurt anybody. Heather, on the other hand, completely severs ties with becky when she comes out as pansexual.
  • Villain Decay: Through exposure to LGBT+ topics, the original main cast all learn to become more empathetic, even if only to a small degree.
  • Villain Protagonist: A show where every main character is a hateful bigot.
  • Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child: When Chad comes out of the closet, his mother Karen begrudgingly accepts it provided that he continues to act as masculine as humanly possible.
  • White Like Me: Though every character is played by an Asian woman, most of them are heavily implied, if not outright stated, to be white.
  • Yaoi Fangirl: Becky mentions that she knows gay marriage exists from reading about it in a yaoi.

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