ojangel:

this has probably been talked about before but Richie wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality, in my opinion (well, he obviously would’ve a bit. it was the 50s. But still). He was a pretty horny dude, and I think he just accepted his horniess for other dudes to be another one of those things he couldn’t fix (like his undiagnosed ADHD). He was ashamed of what his attraction to other boys made him do, though. Richie often makes a fool of himself in front of Eddie and Bev because he had crushes on them both. He pinches Eddie’s cheeks and calls him cute because it’s the only thing that stops him from exploding with all these feelings he doesn’t understand yet. He does dumb voices without thinking. RICHIE IS ASHAMED THAT THIS BEHAVIOUR, THAT HE CAN’T CONTROL, CAN COME ACROSS AS PREDATORY. He sees his actions similiar to those of a monster. Or, more specifically, a werewolf.

That’s what Andy Muschetti didn’t understand. Richie didn’t think his secret was dirty; he thought his actions were. Stripping Eddie of his gay arc and giving it to Richie doesn’t work for either of the characters. Their own fears and experience with bullies can’t be swapped over (or erased completely) simply because they’ve both got queer subtext. It’s insulting if that is actually what Muschetti thought.