A World Full of Gay

I think she should should fail and succeed. Fail at reverting the effects of the potion but succeed at finding a partner. Maybe the twist could be that she ends up with the stock boy.

I think the reverse, succeed in stopping the potion and find that it didn't make people gay but inverted their sexuality. So now she's lesbian and everyone's straight. Everybody (sorta) loses!

I think the approach you'd need to go with this intended ending is that perhaps A World Full of Gay isn't all that it's cracked up to be. I'm playing with the idea of this soon-to-be trope in a play I'm writing, but in my story, the story isn't about gay being better or worse than straight, but love bearing similar rules regardless of the sexes involved. If anything, you'd be writing a heterophobic story but not allowing the love potion to at least be tampered with.

Heterosexuals and homosexuals are two sides of the same coin. This love potion has made people be much less uninhibited in their amorous tendencies, but without it, they wouldn't all turn heterosexual unless that was what their nature told them to do. It looks to me you've stumbled upon a positive nest of psycho-sexual-philosophical quandaries. I suggest you handle it delicately, or at least in a way that feels right to *you.* If you can't please yourself, who can you please?

In any case, I wish you a happy writing. :)

There's loads of fridge logic in this situation. For one, I'm fairly certain that there would be a hell of a lot of violence and social upheaval once the vast majority of the population found out that their sexuality had altered. Not to mention, without their consent. Frankly, I would find that personally horrifying that someone could alter such a fundamental part of myself without me even knowing. You should address that, because your readers will think of it. I would think that a lot of the older generation would be already searching for a way to return to what they consider normal, because that's the kind of think that would freak out everyone. Plus, what guarantees that all the people that are married when this takes effect would separate? Surely at least some of them would choose to stay together and end up raising their children in the "heteronormative way". which could explain why your heroine wants it or even knows that it works.

Also, there's no bisexuals in this setting? I would think those people would be largely unaffected, if all it does is invert sexuality. Perhaps they would form small communities, the same way there are gay neighborhoods? I dunno.

This was a sequel story...in the first book once the potion had gotten out, people would be struck by guilt and anger, then try to direct it onto themselves and each other. People who had married would either stay together for the kids, or because they're still friends with their spouses, or because they're so used to the arrangement.

And no, bisexuals mostly lose their straight half and their gay half is strengthened...but it's okay because the people who already were gay become a lot more attractive to everyone else.

A lot of psychologists say that people shouldn't try to change their own orientation...a lot of them in the story would be saying that, though there would be some investigation into the massive orientation shift. Thing is, no one would expect an air filtration plant.

edited 20th Mar '11 12:02:59 PM by Keybreak

i saw the story as a commentary with irony.

in my opinion, you should play up the whole "a heterosexual woman in a world exclusively of gay people = lonely lesbian woman in a homophobic society", and point out the feelings of inadecuacy (is that how tha word is even written?) in a society that portrays relationships as the opposite of what she desires. really, this whole think is one massive ironic allegory, and i think it could get its serious moments if you go with it. you just need to touch the truly painful moments of homosexuality : being a failure to the objectives you were raised for, never being able to "synchronize" with the society that surrouds the character...you just need to portray faithfully that the homosexual worl would be as heterophobic as the real world can be homophobic. she has every reason in the world to be resentful of society, anyway.

and you can also make it funny by having gay parents being alarmed at the idea of their daughter snogging a dude. really, the story can go both ways.

She could try to introduce a heterosexual love potion that ends up mixing with the homosexual love potion and turning everybody into a bi-sexual. Everyone gets to be with anyone they want regardless of gender so it's a happy ending.

Lulz, in my current story, Everyone Is Bi. Then again, it's not played that seriously...

"Inadequacy".

Fortunately her parents are dead, so a heterophobic society should be the worst thing.

But I'll be planning an ending, don't worry...

"She's one of the only people who isn't gay because she had an immunity to the potion and by now, she gets as much heterophobia as some people have had homophobia."

I don't think it would be the same at all. If the potion had been released several hundred years ago, sure. But everyone has grown up with hetersexuality as the norm, they won't reverse their views overnight. Most homophobes would still be homophobic, and might either kill themselves, search for a cure, be celibate, or stay with a heterosexual lifestyle despite not enjoying it as much anymore. The people who were supportive of gay rights would be supportive of the heterosexual minority as well. Only a very small number of extremists would treat heterosexuality as a bad thing, basically the same people who did before (eg radical feminists, gay misogynists, etc).

Over tme, a bunch of people would start rethinking their views. Some might stick with their original view but flesh it out a bit differently (eg 'men are evil and we should all be lesbians' shifting to 'men are evil, let's persecute the men'). Some might become more tolerant (eg 'I always thought it was a choice but now I understand that it's really not'). Some might become less tolerant (eg 'I thought being gay was just as good as being straight, but now it's clear to me that an all-gay society really doesn't work'). Counselors would be in big demand, meanwhile they'd also be sorting out their own issues.

Just out of curiosity, what happens to asexuals? Would they gain a sexuality? Or would they be immune?

Agh, should have said that this was a few dozen years after the orientation shift. I'm so short-sighted. ;/

I think asexuals would either gain a little homosexual attraction or stay asexual. They're not really a big focus of either of these stories anyway...