Sexual minority characters

Mr. AHR: Oh. Well. I feel stupid.

It's okay. Might be helpful to add that to your "Author's Comments" though. ;)

I know a few gays that visibly fit the stereotypes - really butch chicks with cropped hair and really effeminate guys that practically mince around - but I tend to avoid portraying characters like that as they come across as too stereotypical. Sure, there are really people who're like that out there (or people who're "out there" like that), but it just comes across as forced when bunged in along with the general description.

So I prefer to have any gay or bi characters come across as regular, non-OTT people to the point that if their preferences become known, another character would conceivably be surprised.

That said, I did come up with one character - a professional bodyguard - who is of the "appears straight" persuasion but is unashamedly gay and frequently puts on the camp for humour value (when off duty, natch) so it's part of his personality to suddenly slide from one behaviour to the other.

I made him like that to be memorable amid all the other characters.

nvr mind

edited 17th Apr '11 3:21:09 PM by jasonwill2

Re: campness: The deepest gay character in fiction is arguably Omar. Omar should actually rest the case on camp gay.

"It just doesn't make sense how it could possibly even be a bad thing; I know of no stigma against asexual people."

Look at this:

http://abnormaldiversity.blogspot.com/2011/03/gallant-knight.html

Personally I approach sexual orientation like any other character trait. It can quite comfortably be mentioned, even if it's not pertinent to the story, and at the very least fleshes out the character a little bit more. The worst thing you can do, however, is use it to add artificial depth to a limp, lifeless character as it'll just seem shoehorned in.

Overall, I'd say it's very much down to the author's discretion and also the makeup of the characters and setting. If you're going for deep characterisation, then throw it in if it fits. If you're going for a strong story and don't spend too much time on character development it's best avoided with a few exceptions, like if your aesop depends on it or somesuch.

My two cents, anyhow. Proceed to tear me a new one if I'm talking out the old one.

I have a few homosexual male characters... but they're always 'floating' characters. They have a personality and some relationships, but no real world and no real story.

I'm rather anxious about one in particular, because he and his crush fell so neatly into the "girly one and masculine one' roles it bothers me.

In my fantasy story, I've been a little concerned about role stereotyping. Both are not exactly hyper-feminine or anything, but one does tend to take on the "more feminine" role in the relationship. I think I can make it work successfully, though.

In my real-world story, the "more feminine" partner is the more dominant one, and the "butcher" one is the submissive one, so I think that goes away from the stereotypes quite well ...

My pair (the same in my ueber-long post earlier, is like Morven's: the Yamato Nadeshiko noblewoman is the dominant one in the relationship, and the otherwise strong-willed sex worker is the submissive "wanting to please" partner. However, the sex worker is dominant and the Determinator in all other aspects of her own life, and only with this partner is she the one to do the pleasing and not the urging. Even with her husband she tries to be dominant - as he is the actual dominant for his entire group of people, this...doesn't go over well.

I don't think anybody's really 'dominant' in my character's relationship. I mean, Simon's the one doing the chasing, but I never saw it as a dominance thing. I guess I don't like that in relationships.

Loni, I think it's just that, since such things align with my interests (and punkreader's, I believe), I see things more from that direction than others might. Thus, I'm likely to describe things as dominant or submissive because I see a little bit of that in them, even though most people who aren't BDSM-ers won't use those terms for it.

Vic is a submissive not because she lacks strength, but in some ways because of her strength; she finds joy in gifting her strength to another, in being of use and service, in pleasing and satisfying. She likes to take care of someone, to spoil them, to pamper them, to help them become what they could be.

Annabel, now, is used to an indulged weakness; she's been the child of wealthy but controlling parents, and then the husband of a wealthy but somewhat controlling man. And then everything fell apart. Her husband's business collapsed, he was indicted for fraud and other crimes, and he eventually killed himself. Vic's strength lets her grow, lets her become a woman who can survive and thrive and be strong.

One of the characters I have that is er... well, poor thing's more or less dead by the beginning of the story, but I've pegged her as asexual. She was rather happily married, had children, had quite an understanding husband, but then she became not quite dead, which spooked him the hell out and he ran off with the kids. And then she became even more dead. I doubt her asexuality will ever come up (if she becomes a bit less dead it may), but if it does I'm making it clear it wasn't what screwed up her love life.

Two of my other characters are xenophiles. One is definitely gay, but, again, I doubt it'll actually come up. He'll pay attention more to the males around him (nothing purple, but since there's a chance for attraction he's simply going to notice more how they look), but the situations aren't really going to be conducive to exploring it more thoroughly. One does not wax eloquent about how beautiful another man's eyes look in the ambient glow of an eldritch abomination.

The xenophile thing is what the in-universe looked-down-upon sexual minority is. Trans-species intercourse really squicks out the majority of the population. That... may get a bit more attention.

edited 20th Apr '11 6:58:29 AM by Bur

That's kind of like in one of my stories, where there are two more-or-less coexisting demi-human species. Romances between them would be viewed rather like watered-down bestiality.

If I had the motivation I might write about an interspecies couple, but I can't even get anything done on the main story let alone side-stories of dubious canon status.