A Single Unified LGBT Character Thread

I've been seeing it like he just can't communicate what's up and they're both stuck in monogamous heteronormativity because they don't realize they have other options.

A major theme in most of my arcs in this world is the importance of communication in relationships.

edited 16th Dec '16 11:08:30 AM by TParadox

This likely won't change what I'm doing in any sense, but I kinda want to get people's opinion on my approach to a character in a different series of mine (i.e. not the story I'm currently working on).

One of the main four P.oV. characters - let's call him by his first initial: "A" - is one where I'm not focusing on anything like romance or sexuality to any degree. He never gains a love interest, and he never really thinks of anyone in anything more than a platonic sense. The way I'm writing A, personally, is that he's biologically asexual in the sense that he physically cannot feel sexual attraction.

That being said, I never say that in story or even really hint at it. He just doesn't have a love interest. Now my approach, however, is to make this a Shrug of God and just let the readers interpret it if they're curious. Like if a reader wanted to think A was a closeted gay man, then he's a closeted gay man. If they want to think A is a straight man who's too occupied with the conflict of the story to focus on anything like love or romance, then he's straight and just focusing on resolving the issues present in the plot. And so on and so forth.

Normally I don't give a shit about representation because I'd much rather focus on well-written characters than their surface, bullet-point details, but here I'm really curious how this would be approached from a diversity angle. Again, it won't change that I'm doing this.

I don't think there is such a thing as biologically asexual, as physical attraction is a mental phenomenon. What would be biological is a lack of sexual drive. Which is different.

It is a shame the character will not be explicitly asexual. Adding yet further to the invisible nature of this minority.

yeah, say he's asexual and get it over with.

By the way, I've been scouring the internet on different relationship spectrums since I want to touch a plethora of relationships that aren't just romantic or platonic relationships. Is there a place I can look into?

No, I'm not going to. I want the reader to decide for themselves.

Why? Why can't you just say the characters sexuality? This isn't some sort of philosophical question.

edited 17th Dec '16 9:14:48 AM by phantom1

That is a complicated question. There is The Four Loves, that give your basic social relationships, friendship, kinship, romance and altruistic. Then you also have business relationships, client, partnership, trust, alliance, representative. Then, of course, you have people living inside your own head, who can easily defy traditional relationships.

What sort of relationship spectrum are you looking for?

edited 17th Dec '16 9:24:30 AM by war877

Because it is legitimately unimportant in the story. At all. Nothing about his character arc has anything to do with that.

I'm not changing my mind here. Go back and read my first post if you need to get that through your head. Whether or not I should was never the intent of my original post.

And yes there are people out there who are born without sex drives, which is what I'm referring to.

I don't think we are debating that. Rather the oddness that this is something of the sort you will be making viewer interpretation.

Viewer interpretation stuff, as pointed out earlier are things like Ambiguous Ending or philosophical questions. Not usually random elements of a character.

If you are wondering if this has been done before, yes. Characters with no hint of sexuality in fact dominate. They are the majority. But everyone just assumes they are not asexual, for reasons. So what you are doing does not count as asexual representation unless you drop hints.

Yeah pretty much that. But what sort of relationship do you want like QPR or friendship or familial in the found family sort?

Oh, I think we found the root of the problem. I'm not asking this for any representation reason. I'm asking if people would react positively or negatively to having a character's sexuality be a Shrug of God.

The reason I'm having it be viewer interpreted is because I see no point in mentioning it in story. Again, it's not that he is literally asexual, but rather that I'm not bringing up anything romantic or such for him ever. So if anyone asked for any reason why, I'd just say it was unimportant in the story and that they can interpret it however they wish.

Also what is QPR?

edited 17th Dec '16 9:54:20 AM by randomdude4

A person may have no sex drive and still feel sexual attraction to someone. So they may not count as asexual.

Also, an author who doesn't write a romantic plot for someone usually... It doesn't even get noticed by the audience. You are safe.

edited 17th Dec '16 9:55:34 AM by war877

Quasi or Queer Platonic Relationship. Basically a friendship that would fulfill the same role as dating in someone's life, to use a poor metaphor.

Speaking of story ideas, I have a random confession I have to get off my chest. I gave my mom a rather cheeky answer when she asked me why I made Anne-Marie and Lynessa lesbian lovers. ^_^;;

That's weird. Why not just call it dating?

I swear I'll never understand some of this stuff.

edited 17th Dec '16 11:16:11 AM by randomdude4

Because it's not romantic dating.

How can dating not be romantic? That's kinda the point of it.

Anyways, I'm backing out of this topic now. We've strayed too far off topic, and I don't feel like pursuing this further. Little annoyed right now tbh

I'm using dating to mean an exclusive or negotiated more encompassing (obviously other friendship would be fine) intense relationship where you possibly live together and are non-related. Why it's not a good metaphor. Okay whatever, I figured I'd leave this here if anybody else wants information.

edited 17th Dec '16 11:40:59 AM by phantom1

The reason I say this because I believe most things are spectrum of course, correct me if I'm wrong.

edited 17th Dec '16 12:09:08 PM by ewolf2015

What thing, yeah their is an Asexuality spectrum, which covers Grey Asexuality and Demisexuality as well as Asexual as no sexual attraction.

I don't think most things are on a spectrum. But relationships certainly are!

Unfortunately, usually only the extremes are labelled. So if you have a relationship that falls between two other relationship types, generally you call it by just the main type.

Entire stories can go without so much as touching the main character's sexuality simply because said sexuality is utterly irrelevant to the story. There is typically less discussion about sexuality for such stories, compared to stories where sexuality is relevant to the plot. It's quite obvious why.

In a story where sexuality is irrelevant, what can you say beyond "the main character is asexual, that's why there's little sexuality in the plot"? It's just not particularly interesting to talk about. By contrast, if the character does e.g. want to build romantic relationships, you can talk about the same main story and have the character do all the same things, but also write romance-centered side stories even if they are not directly relavant to the main story. Romance and sexuality opens up a lot of possibilites while closing next to zero doors.

In a story where sexuality is irrelevant, there's no difference between an asexual main character and a allosexual main character. Without explicitly saying "this character is asexual", there's no way to tell the character is asexual. Especially when the character is made asexual simply because the story has nothing to do with sexuality.

edited 18th Dec '16 5:32:39 AM by hellomoto

Oh the relationships yeah they are. There used to be a lot more aro stuff that talked about them, but I feel it's almost died down(?) which is a shame. I don't know why I missed you were talking about relationships.

edited 18th Dec '16 10:11:55 AM by phantom1

Am I going crazy, or is The Independent publishing TERF propaganda?

edited 26th Mar '17 4:21:58 AM by Bisected8

I don't think you are, WTH. Though this is the character discussion thread not the yack fest thread. There names are really similar.

edited 25th Mar '17 8:46:27 PM by phantom1