A rant ...

[bubosquared]

Twice in recent days, while talking to ruby_fruit, we've gone off on rants about Things We Want To See More Of (Or Even At All) In Books And Other Media. Specifically, what we want to see are "casually gay characters."

Honestly, I'm a little burnt out on Gay Lit lately. Not that I don't still love to read about boys loving boys and girls loving girls and either loving both, but I'm starting to feel a bit ... ghetto-ised, I suppose. It's not that I want Gay Lit to go away, it's that I want more gay characters in "mainstream" lit. And on TV. And in movies. And fuck, in songs, in advertising, in the street, in every part of everyday life. But I'll limit myself to books, and the general media to some extent, because if I get started on the rest I'll just never shut up.

As most of you will know, I pretty much read only fantasy and some science fiction (with a peppering of True Crime and nonfic when I'm feeling like reading brainless trash and brainfood, respectively). You'd think in these genres if not in any other genre, or in "mainstream" lit, you'd see more gay characters being generally accepted. Or even gay characters at all.

In fantasy, you have the opportunity to set up a society where same-sex relationships are accepted the way opposite-sex relationships are. Yet very, very few writers do this. Why? If nothing else, it's a perfect way to set your novel apart from the gazillion other fantasy tomes on the shelves. Because there are people out there, people like me, who will give anything a chance if it has two boys or two girls touching in sexy ways.

For once, I want to read a book in which there are queer characters other than the by-now-cliché effeminate gay mage or the lesbian mercenary (especially if she "turned gay" because of rape--HATE!). I want to see the macho mercenary fall in love with a bloke. I want to see the hero walk into a bar and get hit on by the waiter instead of the waitress, and not freak out. I don't care if he's straight and just politely turns him down, even, though it'd be even better if he flirted back, of course. I want to see the beautiful witch fall in love with the heroine rather than the hero. I want to see the kitchen boy go on a quest to prove himself worthy of his True Love, and have that True Love be the prince rather than the princess. I want to see a society where same-sex relationships are the norm, and procreation is the only reason for m/f sex, if it happens at all (turkey basters, anyone?)

Science Fiction is marginally better about this, but not by much. In most science fiction worlds, sexism (and, usually, racism) are things of the past, yet queer people are still not even acknowledged most of the time, and when they are, well. See above for the usual clichés. I'm tired of it. Show me the hero saving the guy instead of the girl, and falling in love with him. Show me the women settlers raising a child together. Hell, show me the people falling in love with aliens whose race has more than two genders, or no gender at all--though that's getting into genderqueer territory somewhat.

And once genre fiction gets with the program, let's start fixing "mainstream" lit. Let's start seeing queer characters in contemporary books, and let's start letting them have actual relationships. Let's start letting the protagonist have a gay or lesbian friend, and allow that friend to be more than just "the best friend". Let's start writing about queer characters, and have a plot beyond the main character's sexuality. One in ten people are queer, and that's not even counting the bisexuals, and a whole lot of us are out and proud, so let's start seeing that in books that are supposed to take place in the here and now. Let's start seeing an accurate picture of what (especially urban) life is actually like in this day and age.

I'd especially love to see more queer characters in YA novels that aren't coming-out stories. Not that I dislike those, and I'm sure they're a great help for a lot of queer teens, but not every queer person had to struggle first with themselves and then with their family and peers to come out as queer (I didn't), and putting queer characters in "straight"/"non-queer" YA novels may help make people, especially teenagers, realise that we are everywhere.

I'm sick and tired of being "accepted". I don't want to be "accepted", as if I'm some sort of embarrassing relative you'll put up with for the sake of blood ties but who you'd rather not be seen with in public. I want to be acknowledged as part of society. Because I am, and I've had it with being invisible to the media, with seeing queer people trotted out to show that look, aren't we progressive? I want to see "my kind" in books, on screen, in ads and in the street, and have no one bat an eye the way no one bats an eye at straight couples.

I'm here, I'm queer, and I refuse to be invisible any longer.

Comments

[renne.livejournal.com]

I'd especially love to see more queer characters in YA novels that aren't coming-out stories.

you know, i'm glad you said that. that whole paragraph, really. i'm currently working on an original fiction story that involves a couple of queer teens and i'd been thinking about the whole 'coming out' thing - i wasn't really interested in addressing it as it wasn't part of what i'd plotted - so i figured, ah fuck it, i just won't do it.

Because I am, and I've had it with being invisible to the media, with seeing queer people trotted out to show that look, aren't we progressive?

oh god yes. i really dislike the whole "look! there's queer shows on the television! queer eye! queer as folk! will & grace! wow! what are you complaining about?" attitude too. shows like those stereotype queer people like nothing else, imo. like you, i just want to see queer people as a regular, everyday part of the media that isn't sensationalised or even gets special attention drawn to - i just want queer people to be as everyday as straight people.

(elfy from jf ;))

Reposted to fix fucked-up HTML

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

so i figured, ah fuck it, i just won't do it.

Good for you! And also, I totally want to read that story once you're done with it.

shows like those stereotype queer people like nothing else, imo.

Exactly! It's like TPTB are under the impression that "Gay Man" = "good fashion sense, makes lots of catty remarks about people's decorating, like to hang out with women". Being a gay man means they kiss and have sex with other men? Surely not! Which isn't to say I don't like the Queer Eye blokes, because I do, I just want to see gay characters actually have kiss each other. Like on QaF, but not "banished" to their own show.

(And this is where I stop myself from going off on another rant about Marvel's treatment of its one openly gay superhero. Again.)

[wild-boys.livejournal.com]

And the stereotypes are fucking pervasive! I have this 17-year-old gay mate, and he keeps making all these little remarks about how he's effeminate because he's gay, things like that, that just make me STARE at him. Like he HAS to be into paint charts and Barbra Streisand or something. And I really don't think 17-year-olds need more bullshit weighing on their personalities, you know?

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

It's one of the most disnheartening things, isn't it, to see the people being stereotyped actually confirm to the stereotype. I mean, if being effeminate's who and what you are, and you're also gay, then power to you, but don't act femmy simply because you think you should, because you're gay and that's what gay men do.(Of course, the reverse is also true: don't act macho and butch against your nature because you don't want to seem like the stereotype, because that's letting the stereotype control you, too.)

Sometimes I really hate society.