In 2006, I was young, scared, and feeling alone. I had just come out to my closest friends, something I had sworn I would never do (I planned to take that secret to my grave). At the time, being gay meant I was going to be a disappointment. I’d accepted the idea that I would never be married or have kids. I felt more than just different. I felt “wrong”.
Then, I watched Captain Jack Harkness flirt with a man on TV. He did that… then he fought evil, saved lives, and traveled through time and space. His sexuality was inconsequential to his being a hero. When he was introduced, the Doctor told Rose “He’s a 51st Century man.”, implying that the future didn’t care about Jack’s sexuality.
Before marriage equality, before the “It Gets Better” campaigns, before Glee, before Lady Gaga…
Doctor Who told me that there was a future coming that I could be a part of.
Captain Jack Harkness was there for me right when I needed him most.
The 13th Doctor will be there for someone who needs her. That’s more important than your vague and ill-informed notions of “tradition”.
