I'm trying to imagine the show playing out as you describe. Assuming that Lister and Rimmer are still bunkmates - which they would have to be for the show to work - presumably there would have been some exposition at some stage explaining how in the future bunkmates of different genders is no longer an issue.
Even if their relationship was just as initially antagonistic, there is no way in hell that people wouldn't read it as incorporating sexual if not romantic attraction regardless of whether their canon orientations matched that. The "Why are they still sharing a room?" questions would be asked a lot louder than they are now. People would be convinced that whichever was the male had masturbated at the thought of his bunkmate at least once because he's a man and that's what men do, right?
Equally, if the woman was the uptight one she'd be assumed to be sex-starved and just in need of a good shag. I'm talking about fan perceptions here, not how Rob and Doug might write it.
As I wrote that I got more and more depressed at how rigid our notions of gender and orientation are. Heteronormativity is a plague. :(
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Even if their relationship was just as initially antagonistic, there is no way in hell that people wouldn't read it as incorporating sexual if not romantic attraction regardless of whether their canon orientations matched that. The "Why are they still sharing a room?" questions would be asked a lot louder than they are now. People would be convinced that whichever was the male had masturbated at the thought of his bunkmate at least once because he's a man and that's what men do, right?
Equally, if the woman was the uptight one she'd be assumed to be sex-starved and just in need of a good shag. I'm talking about fan perceptions here, not how Rob and Doug might write it.
As I wrote that I got more and more depressed at how rigid our notions of gender and orientation are. Heteronormativity is a plague. :(