In my opinion, everyone is free to (not) collab with anyone they want. What i don't like is all that beating around the bush. If a Vtuber doesn't want to interact with the other gender because you don't want to, maybe you see yourself as an idol and you agree that idols shouldn't do that, well, just don't.
But all that talk about taint, or when someone says "i don't know them".. nobody knows anybody until they do. Some Vtubers rarely collab at all, which i'm sad to see, but it's up to them. But some Vtubers collab with everyone who's not fast enough to run away, as long as it's the same gender, but when asked about [insert name of person who happens to have the opposite gender] they say "oh, i don't even know them".
I think Botan once said something along the lines that she doesn't collab with Holostars because people want to see her, not a guy, when they come to her stream. Which is bullshit, because if it's about "wanting to see her", then she can't collab with anyone. Bye bye NePoLa. And now she interacts with men outside the company, instead of with Holostars, despite the later being picked by Cover, managed by Cover, have to follow more or less the same rules, she could ask the other girls like Matsuri, Laplus, Fubuki, Towa etc. about them etc. She could also pick someone "harmless", it's not like she has to start with Astel or such.. and even then, not one guy from Holostars is "safe" for an idol, but e.g. collabing with Marine is fine? Botan isn't big on interactions with EN anyways, but i still bet she would collab with Nerissa "pregnancy stream" Ravencroft before any Holostar.
So, ultimately it's up to each person who they want to collab with, but i think we would be better off without the "idol" stuf, it's just nonsense. Judge each person on their own, not by some label, and collab if you want to, and don't if you don't. Obviously managment has a say, but no one else, certainly not some rabid fans who think you are "tainted" if you make one wrong move. Of course, no that we got so far, there's actually a chance that they might destroy their career if they change certain things, so it's a difficult decision, but that's still up to everyone themselves.
