Talk:Undercover in a Gay Bar

I find the focus very narrow. I think the trope is actually more accurately "pretend couple" which exists in het as well as in slash stories. I mean, like the cliche of the high school reunion where the geeky one ropes their hot (work) partner into pretending to be a couple to show off. I've seen that as slash story and I've seen that as het story. I've also seen the undercover couple as het. I mean, of course we could make a page for every common sub-type of pretend-couple situations, but I think bundling would make more sense.--RatCreature 23:08, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

As long as "Undercover in a Gay Bar" redirects to "Pretend Couple," it works for me. *I just love this trope* --Mrs. Potato Head 23:26, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

I think Undercover in a Gay Bar is a closely related trope to Pretend Couple, but not exactly the same. I think a good example is the Babylon 5 plot where Marcus and Franklin pretend to be a couple for an undercover assignment, but because the society around them has normalized homosexuality, the point of the joke is that they have to pretend to like each other. The gay is irrelevant, at least to them, if not the audience.

In the fanfics on this page, the gay is not irrelevant, and the point of the trope is that it puts the couple in a place where homosexuality is normalized, which is an exceptional place in the world of the story, and allows them to express themselves in ways they could not in the real world. That makes this trope specifically a slash trope, and not the same as pretend het, or some pretend gay. The SGA stories where Rodney and John get married for some financial reason would be Pretend Couple, not this trope, I think.

I think the trope expressly subverts things like the film Cruising or that Ryan O'neil/John Hurt flick which I can't recall the name of, or other homophobic portrayals of undercover gay in original media, and queers the text, which is not the same thing as just pretending to be a couple.--facetofcathy 23:44, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

I agree. That's why I included the OaT story where thy are undercover in a gay neighborhood. Although it's not a gay bar, it's a place where homosexuality is normalized which makes it different from their "real world". I think this should keep its own page as a slash trope. --Doro 23:59, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Actually that story could be seen as a fix-it fic for the film Partners, which I managed to remember the name of. Very similar set up, very different ending.--facetofcathy 00:50, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

I didn't know about the "established relationship" aspect of The Bait, Doro. Maybe that image isn't a good example, then? Should I take it off, and we can find a more relevant example? --Mrs. Potato Head 22:49, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure. The Bait page says "Jim and Blair, who have already chosen each other as lifemates" and to me that means they are in an established relationship but maybe I'm wrong? --Doro 23:38, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

I didn't read the blurb very carefully! Let's take the image off. It doesn't really fit the trope. Something else better will come along. :-) --Mrs. Potato Head 23:49, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Deleted Link

• Viciouscats’ Master list of due South fanfiction: undercover fic (slash only) includes several undercover in a gay bar stories.

Was deleted or archived by Wordpress for violation of their Terms of Service Bobdog54 (talk) 20:08, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

• Wayback Machine link. (I've not checked to see how much is archived.) --Greer Watson (talk) 06:23, 28 May 2015 (UTC)