Meta: The Case of John Watson's sexuality

[Carol the Dabbler]

I tend to think of Sherlock as demi-sexual (or at least someone who really can't be bothered with all the mess and fuss of 'romantic' relationships) so the description of him being 'married to his work' in his case is a true one. I don't see him as exclusively gay - or not, for that matter.

 

Part of the thing with John is the continued vehemence of protestations of being 'not gay' - is he putting a little too much into his denials? It makes one wonder a tad; being bi is certainly not being gay and John might just not like labels. In the army, I assume being gay or bi won't have been that acceptable, but in the NHS no-one tends to give a monkeys as long as you work hard and are good at your job.

 

At the end of the day John and Sherlock obviously care massively for each other whether it has an undercurrent of sexual attraction or not - they're fascinated and exasperated in about equal measure and I don't think either could think of their life without the other in it in some shape or form, not any more.

 

I've read fic where Sherlock and John are described as platonic life partners who happened to be married to others - Sherlock to his work, John to Mary.

 

I agree with everything you've said here except for the bit about the vehemence of John's denials being possible evidence.  I would think that anyone who presents themself as something (in this case, straight) would become pretty damn peeved if people kept insisting that they aren't.  Nobody likes being called a liar, even if not in so many words.

 

John doesn't generally seem all that bothered when strangers casually assume that he and Sherlock are a couple.  For example, he's merely bewildered by Mrs. Hudson's initial reference in "Study," and he resists correcting the innkeeper in "Hounds."  What does seem to bother him is a continuing insistence that he's not telling the truth.  For example, he doesn't seem particularly annoyed by Mrs. Hudson's first few implications in "Hearse."  It's only when she she sweetly-aggressively persists that he becomes more emphatic.

[T.o.b.y]

Nobody likes being called a liar, even if not in so many words.

 

Oh, you think he gets mad not at people thinking he is gay but that he would lie about it if he were? That's a thought - never seen it that way but makes sense, of course.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've had experiences that were somewhat analogous, and it wasn't the initial misunderstanding that bothered me, it was that the person (or in some cases several people) kept insisting that I was [whatever] when I'd already told them I wasn't.  If that isn't calling me a liar, I don't know what it is.  (Well, I suppose they could been calling me delusional, but that's not much better, is it?)

 

[T.o.b.y]

I've had experiences that were somewhat analogous, and it wasn't the initial misunderstanding that bothered me, it was that the person (or in some cases several people) kept insisting that I was [whatever] when I'd already told them I wasn't.  If that isn't calling me a liar, I don't know what it is.  (Well, I suppose they could been calling me delusional, but that's not much better, is it?)

 

That is very tiresome, isn't it. And there's really no way out of it, because the people who made the assumption in the first place will never believe you anyway and if you protest too vehemently, you get the same John Watson does: you're not merely thought of as something you are not, but also as someone who has a problem with who they are plus you're likely to be accused of homophobia.

 

I so envy Sherlock's ability to just "filter" silly things like that and not give a hoot what people think. Because in matters like this, I honestly have the impression he couldn't care less.

 

(I have read somewhere though that in one of the film adaptations, they had Holmes more or less purposely spread the rumor that Watson was his boy-friend so he would be left alone by women and not asked any more impertinent questions about his private life. And I always had the impression that Sherlock found the misunderstanding funny and maybe convenient for a similar reason. Who knows.)

 

[Ally.C]

 

(I have read somewhere though that in one of the film adaptations, they had Holmes more or less purposely spread the rumor that Watson was his boy-friend so he would be left alone by women and not asked any more impertinent questions about his private life. And I always had the impression that Sherlock found the misunderstanding funny and maybe convenient for a similar reason. Who knows.)

 

 

 

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes directed by Billy Wilde, is, I believe, what you're thinking of.

 

Interestingly enough I just came off watching the Timeshift special on Sherlock Holmes and Mark Gatiss speaks about this film being one of his favourites. In the film one of the stories is that a Russian ballerina comes to Holmes wanting him to father her child. In the end he gets away from this by saying that Watson is his lover, which embarrasses Watson a good deal. When Watson later goes to Holmes stating it might be presumptuous to ask, but Holmes has been with women, yes? Holmes replies, "Yes, that is presumptuous." Leaving it nice and ambiguous as it is in Sherlock. It's mentioned the director later regretted not making Holmes specifically gay.

 

Gatiss states this is where they get a lot of their Johnlock play. This is also the film where Christopher Lee plays Mycroft and Gatiss has based a lot of his Mycroft on Lee's.