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

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read Clive Barker's Imagica? It's one of his fantasy novels and one of the main characters, Pie O Pah, is from a race that has a third sex that's neither male nor female, but can pass as either. The hero of the story falls in love with hir. Pie's not effeminate at all and when Gentle (the hero, who's definitely not effeminate, either) met hir, sie was passing as a man.

Anyway, it's one of my favorite Clive Barker novels, and not just for that. The story itself is brilliant. Very cool.

Um, can't think of anything else fantasy off the top of my head. Have you read At Swim, Two Boys? Historical fiction set in pre-WWI Ireland that's a love triangle between three men. One of my favorite books.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Barker's Coldheart Canyon is another good one with a gay protagonist.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I read the first half of it (the pocket version came in two volumes and I'd not realised that when I picked it up). I really liked Pie and Gentle's relationship, but the actual world and the story taking place around them couldn't hold my interest, sadly. (I'm picky, sorry.)

I've heard good things of ASTB, but I'm always hesitant to pick up non-genre novels. Might give it a try, though.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I read the first pb printing, cause it was all in one, but then when I wanted to read it again (I'd gotten it from the library) I was disappointed to see the reprint was two volumes. I can understand it, cause it was huge, but they could at least price them lower if they're going to do that.

Erm, but back to the topic at hand. That's too bad you didn't like it. I had mixed feelings when I started out, but by the end I loved it.

Oh, and I just thought of another book. Ian McEwan's Enduring Love. The protagonist is straight, but I point it out because it's an example of very integrated homosexual characters, I think. He meets this guy who develops a pathologically obsessive crush on him, which you may say is not portraying homosexuals as normal at all, but the focus is on his obsession, not on the fact that he's obsessed with another man. No one thinks that's odd. In fact, when the protagonist goes to the police and tells his wife and all this, everyone just brushes it off. "Oh, he just has a crush on you; it's sweet," his wife says. It's not at all presented as this crazy gay man who ruins this straight man's life; it's just two people. Of course, like ASTB, it's not genre fiction, but still.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I'll put it on my List anyway, though it may be a while before I get to it. as I mentioned, I read pretty exclusively fantasy and science fiction, and even the latter only on recommendation.

which you may say is not portraying homosexuals as normal at all

Actuall, it is. It's portraying queer characters the same way as straight characters: some good, some bad, most of them somewhere in between. Which is exactly what I like. :)

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Actuall, it is. It's portraying queer characters the same way as straight characters: some good, some bad, most of them somewhere in between. Which is exactly what I like. :)

Yes, that's what I liked about it. But describing the plot, I'm aware that it could sound like "evil gay guy does evil gay things omg", so... ^_^;;

I used to read almost entirely fantasy, but now I hardly read any anymore and mostly read just plain old fiction. It's strange.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I pretty much stopped reading non-sff somewhere in my late teens, for some reason, and as time goes on I find myself less and less willing to give any non-genre books a chance anymore. It's kind of annoying sometimes, because I know I miss out on a lot, but I can't seem to make myself pick those books up.