Gay Characters in Fiction

[Fisher0001]

Just wondering what, in your opinion, makes a gay character work in a piece of fiction, and what makes the writing not work as a work of art? Give me your thoughts and opinions.

 

[Tabula_Rasa]

Hmmm... its hard to say, it depends on the genre...

There is a certain expectation in danmei for example.

But its a different feel if its like... a litrpg Lovecraft fusion fantasy with a gay mc.

 

[PancakesWitch]

Well, first of all, be subtle.
Don't introduce a character like "WELL HELLO! I AM MISTER GAYMAN!" OR "HEY BABES, I AM LESBIAN WOMAN!" okay? please be subtle, sexuality is not a personality. Introduce them as any other character you would introduce, and then slowly expand their sexuality as you explore the character and the other characters interact with them and learn about their past... also, only do it if its relevant to the plot, or it feels forced and nobody will care when reading about it.
This is from someone who has written dozens of queer characters across over 12 novels, so trust me.

 

[L1aei]

Just wondering what, in your opinion, makes a gay character work in a piece of fiction, and what makes the writing not work as a work of art? Give me your thoughts and opinions.

Maybe eye movement, less so in posturing. But the eyes or perspective gives the readers hints of the character's interests. Posturing would only apply if they are a bit more bold and want to be closer to someone because, well, that's how attraction may work. Even if they are introverted, if they are trying to not look at the other person, then that's still a signal of something outstanding in the character. It might not hint at attraction, but it can tell the readers something is going on in their head and it is related to whomever they are shy around.

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

One of my side chars is Bi, but I never glorified it really. He is a male friend of my MC, in a nonsexual way, as he is the brother of two sisters my MC is getting closer to. Near the end of the arc I had in that world, I had a long segment from his POV, in which he thought about how he missed his boyfriend, the two of them separated by literal worlds and race. It was a nice piece, imo, where this somewhat immature noble undergoes some personal growth, his being bi only adding a bit of flavour for his more important developments.

 

[8128]

It works if they are portrayed like any other character and their sexual orientation does not warp the story around it (unless the story is about it ofc). If the sexuality does not define the character or become their one main trait, if it's just a part of a whole range of things they're about.
Of course related things naturally align like perhaps masculinity/femininity, chosen family etc, but that is less about being gay and more about queer identity. What I mean to say is that if overall a character's trait is overly emphasized, then it feels less natural and more symbolic-artificial. Stories where the author does not bring a spotlight to a fact, but it's more integrated into their identity overall. That works for me

 

[Tyranomaster]

"WELL HELLO! I AM MISTER GAYMAN!"

I don't know... if you want a comedically gay man, naming him Guy Gayman and making his entire personality be that he's gay could work in the right setting.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Do it like Raymond Holt.

 

[L1aei]

Do it like Raymond Holt.

Honestly, that's not a bad idea.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Just wondering what, in your opinion, makes a gay character work in a piece of fiction, and what makes the writing not work as a work of art? Give me your thoughts and opinions.

I believe it's the same thing with races. The more an author uses them in the story for the story's sake, the more they will work.

Problems only appear when an author is forced to include them just to complete a checklist, or to preach to readers who just wanted entertainment.

 

[PancakesWitch]

I don't know... if you want a comedically gay man, naming him Guy Gayman and making his entire personality be that he's gay could work in the right setting.

Bait or mental retardation?

 

[unlaumy]

Unless it means something to the story, I play https://forum.scribblehub.com/threads/dice-test.1719/ or equivalent to decide on my characters' races or sexuality

 

[DireBadger]

Just don't surprise the reader, since it IS a stress factor, politics aside. Most non-standard sexuality will be a stress factor unless you specifically mark the story as containing that.
Of course, lots of readers specifically look for non-vanilla sexuality in their books, so it might be as much a selling point as a potential stress point. Just bear in mind the demographics of your audience.

 

[Jerynboe]

Three options, if we are talking about what works in terms of what can be successful. None of these is a moral endorsement.

1. If you are pandering, then them being gay or whatever is a core aspect of not just their personality but the primary lens by which the story itself analyzes everything. This is niche but some people genuinely love their propaganda.

2. Objectify the hell out of them. Your mind probably went to hot smutty lesbians first, but let’s be honest the dudes in boys love stories are frequently about as realistic in how they act as the ridiculously horny lesbians who spend all their time scissoring and pegging one another. People who act like that may exist but they are not the average homosexual. Indeed, the kind of gay in category one is more common than category two gays irl. The people who read the story so they can positively objectify the gays do not care in the slightest, however.

3. Write them like a normal person and don’t worry too much about their gayness. Obviously, keep in mind that they wish to rub their genitals on a different demographic than they would if they were straight, but otherwise don’t really think too hard about how gay they are. Maybe throw in a few stereotypes for flavor. This is by far the most realistic and common homosexual irl and the least likely to catch flak or turn people off in fiction.

 

[tentacle_master]

If my straight MC doing xxx stuff with a femboy, does that make both of them gay?

 

[TinaMigarlo]

I personally find it annoying when I'd be reading a print paperback and I encounter the dreaded "drop in". WHen I read, I have a running movie in my head. A "drop in" is when out of freaking nowhere, this character/characters just appears. They tend to issue or cause to be issued, some kind of "speech". Its very preachy. I'm already drawn into the story. I'm already engaging in suspension of disbelief reading.

Its like the movie gets hit "pause", screen freezes. The "drop in" character delivers their canned "preach speech". Then, the movie starts back up and goes more normally. Once, I'll tolerate. I'll light a smoke and laugh, and continue reading. "That was annoying".

Do it too many times? I'll finish your book. I have to, I started it. But I'll never read another of your books again. maybe the author did it for brownie points, or to satisfy their own... whatever. Maybe the editor did it. Maybe the suits in the publishing house, have an agenda. I don;t care who what or why, but its annoying. I started noticing it *bad* around 1990s paperbacks, and it just got worse. A collection of "woke" side characters is another one.

My litmus test... as a writer. I don't sit down to write, and think. Okay, I want to include a lesbian character. Can I make the MC a lesbian? Or can I make an important side character a lesbian. How can I work in the speech and the education seminar I want to get in there. That would be me having an *agenda*. And that has no place in my writing. Sure, I have my premise. Yes, I have some things I'd like to say. But I have to weave that in and together. Not just a naked "drop in". Its so obvious, its annoying.

drop ins, and pre-existing agendas? Are cringe. Its annoying. I've had a couple gay characters in my books, and I don't get cringe reading them. Maybe I pulled it off, who knows. But I didn't "challenge myself" to have them be the side characters or one of the important characters. They just seemed to fit into the slipstream of the story. They seemed interesting.

Don't write from an agenda.

If my straight MC doing xxx stuff with a femboy, does that make both of them gay?

not if straight MC leaves his socks on. Everyone knows that. Internet 101, right there.

 

[corruption]

Don't introduce a character like "WELL HELLO! I AM MISTER GAYMAN!"

If his name is actually something like Greg Gayman (Gay used to mean Happy, so it is actually reasonable) and he likes dressing flamboyantly, and other things associated with being homosexual, but turns out to be straight, it can be amusing.
Expressly when other guys don't actually believe him when he claims to be straight, and end up becoming interested in him, and he has to turn them down.

 

[ShrimpShady]

You can write them however you write any other character. You can, if you want, write a gay character in a story where them being gay is thematically relevant somehow. Or you can also just have a gay character because you want to. No problem either way.

It really only becomes an issue when they're just a walking stereotype and not an actual character

 

[JordanIda]

Flip it. How to make hetero characters work. If the character is plausible, it doesn't have to be said. The character is just the character. Right? The storyline determines the action, and the action provides the reveal. If necessary. And it isn't always necessary. One could have a full length novel, and the reader might never know whether character A is into men, women, or giraffes.

The problem with "gay characters," and the reason why they so seldom work, is that the writer makes a big deal of it. Turns it into a teachable moment (bad) or a celebration of diversity (worse) or a flagrant virtue signal (i.e., the token gay couple, for no reason pertaining to the story, just to have it and check off the sanctimony box, which is the very worst reason of all). The problem is with this obsession that the characters have to be something and identify as something. Which almost always means the writer has some ulterior motive, apart from and beyond the story itself.

Point is, ask yourself: what does the storyline dictate? Where is the story going, and why do the characters have to be anything? If gender identity shouldn't matter, and sexual preferences of any sort should be okay and shouldn't matter, then why make such a big deal of them? Why not just tell the story? If the story has a reason for making the character gay, as opposed to hetero or whatever, then fine. But if you have to inject some pretext that doesn't fit the story, if you have to bomb the reader with some gratuitous scissoring or frottage scene just to show that the character's got same-sex preferences, it's no longer about what the story needs. It's all about you.

 

[TinaMigarlo]

@JordanIda.

You get it. This stuff helped kill trad pub. We get preached at and enough "teachable moments" in all other forms of every day life. Reading is an escape, from the real world. Well, it was meant to be. Don't get me wrong. You can have a theme, or something you want to say or show. But weave it in, you know. Don't just make it like a product endorsement contained inside the movie. (thinking of wayne's world here, the famous product endorsements they made fun of in that comedy movie)