Pet peeve time

You know, it's perfectly valid (imo) to say 'I don't see that character X and Y have a relationship that could develop into a sexual one' but this whole 'they can't be gay! they don't mince enough!' thing always gets me a tad vexed.

My favourite comment today (and I've removed the fandom because I think it could apply to any slash pairing): "I have a problem with slash in [snip name of fandom]. It's simple, because they don't exhibit any of those attributes on the show and I look for mainly characters in fan fic that resemble the characters on the show."

Attributes? There are gay attributes? And I bet they aren't positive ones, are they? ;)

How does the possibility of being gay or bisexual affect these characters? Does it stop them being brave or cunning or pragmatic or loyal or any other of the thousand things that make them who they are, just because they choose to sleep (or think about sleeping with) someone of the same gender?

Personally I have many more issues with what a m/f 'romance' storyline that pushes a woman to pursue her male boss and wreck his already shaky marriage, or that has a woman still lusting after the unobtainable when she has someone who clearly loves her to bits says about the women characters involved in them (as I would with fic that did the same). And that's *onscreen* in the first two shows I thought of with defined plotlines in that direction.