sure, but people want to see characters that represent them in books to feel validated. if you reveal that a character was lowkey gay years later that does nothing for the thousands of gay kids that read the stories when they were actually popular.

besides, it's just lazy. a good writer can make a character gay without it being a major facet but also make it obvious to the reader to help gay kids feel validated and seen.

if you really just want to write a straight character but also want the liberal cred of saying you do positive representation you can just have them mention their husband and it would at least show a forethought and like you weren't just reacting to trends on Twitter. something a certain famous author has shown a penchant for in years that have come to pass.

alternatively, you can actually write a good gay character. it's not impossible. look at that one episode of the last of us with nick offerman. it was really gay. it was also very human and relatable. it was very much about their gay romance and yet their gayness didn't effect them in important moments. they didn't love or die any differently than the rest of us, but it wasn't a straight romance turned gay either. shit was beautiful.

though if my experience with my gay friends tells me anything what they really want is extremely raunchy stories about problematic, abusive, and neglectful relationships. specifically weird Chinese gay romance right now, but that's just what's trendy i guess? maybe my sample size is too small...