How do LGBT people respond to heteronormativity in movies and other media?

When we can all watch two people fall in love and empathize with them regardless of their gender, race, religion or other ways to promote “otherness” I am sure this will be a better world.

Be the change you want. If you are gay and gag at heterosexual relationships, why should heterosexuals react any differently to same sex hookups?

Love the answer @ETpro gave. Love between two people is beautiful regardless of their gender. Hell, some humans even cry if two dogs in a love story falls in love. It is just how we are.

Wow, I can’t answer this without a disclaimer, which ruins the joke…
I am completely supportive of the LGBT community. I want them all to be happy in their lives, and support the new laws allowing them to marry. I have many friends who are gay.

That said, my favorite romantic relationship is in Casablanca, but I might feel very differently if I knew that Rick was drilling Ilsa’s mudhole.

I am happy they are in a relationship, I just don’t want details.

I feel like I can almost understand what the OP means…

For instance, I think if you changed it to a different scenario rather than sexual orientation, people might think of the question differently. @ETpro points out that love can be identified with by everyone because it’s a universal feeling regardless of who it’s directed at, but if it was, oh I don’t know… two KKK members instead of two gay people or a straight couple, I don’t think I could identify with them. Same as some straight people can’t identify with a gay couple, and possibly—as the OP has asked—some gay people may not be able to fully identify with hetero couples.

Does that make any sense?

@poofandmook Actually, yes. I can still relate to love, even between two people who hold personal belief systems I that disgust me.

Like everyone else, they’re engrossed into the story line.

While society is progressing in big ways, there is still stigma over non-hetero sexual orientations (or even the idea of not having any orientation at all, which is possible). There’s that added element. That’s why I wondered if it would be harder to relate to a straight-couple love story. Of course, I think most of us argue that the feeling of love is universal. But is the level of connection with the story the same?

@Michelleswift As a response to the OP, that would seem to damage the cause of all who are not heteronormative. If the minority will not accept the majority, why should they expect the majority to accept them?

I would prefer the relationship to be something I can relate to, but I’m used to that not happening. I may like same sex relationships in media more, but I can still enjoy reading/watching about a good heterosexual couple. This does not mean that I do not immediately go online and start reading queer fanfiction about the characters.