Okay, after reading this thread something is beginning to bother me, and it's this queer/LGBT section. I've heard of the Sci-fi ghetto, but there isn't actually some kind of LGBT sub-ghetto, is there?
I don't think it's a ghetto, but some bookstores have a gay literature section. It can be a bit controversial what goes in that section, for sure, but I don't think the existence of the section is automatically evidence of discrimination or ghettoization. If a gay kid is looking for fiction that reflects her struggles or life, she probably doesn't want to hunt through every book in the store looking for a chance reference to a gay character. The gay literature section can help her out. Lots of other times the distinction is useful, obviously.
The main female lead in my fantasy story is gay, and was always envisioned that way. The main question I'm having at the moment is the actual sexuality of the girl who ends up being her girlfriend. I'm actually tempted to leave it ambiguous as to whether she's actually bi or just "If it's you it's okay" (to quote TV tropes).
And and to add to what Bayview has already said... There is a history here that has to be taken into account and that has to viewed through the lens of the time in which things take place. I'm gay. I'm 45 years old. I'm American. I remember very well, already as an adult, when larger booksellers would not carry anything that was obviously LGBT oriented or aimed or themed or however you want to call it. It simply was not to be found. You had to live in a big city with a vibrant "gay center" to find a bookstore that sold books that were aimed at you. Were there some titles hidden in amongst the other titles at the big sellers? Sure, but you had to be in the know, in the club, given the code words to know what to look for. Someone had to whisper into your metaphorical ear, "Hey kid, forget Maupin, you won't find it here. Go over to the sci-fi section and grab everything by Samuel R. Delany. The idiots who run this place think it's just sci-fi. Go get that shit. You're gonna' love it." And this was LONG before internet, so it wasn't as simple as googling what you wanted. You really, actually had to have a live person impart that knowledge to you; else, it was opaque. So when booksellers started having an LGBT section, it was awesome, amazing, holymotherofgocookingstewonsundayafteroon!!! Gay books!!! YES!!!! Wait... is this book about a transgender person???!??!! Mind=blown!! It really was like that for some of us who didn't have the luxury of growing up in a big urban center. It really, really, was. I remember standing in front of that section, the very first time I saw one, and the adrenaline that was running through me was almost painful. Just standing in front of that section, obviously reading a book from that section, was, to little suburban me, an act of extreme, punk, rockoutwithyourcockout defiance. Just as Bayview mentions, the pendulum has swung the other way and with fierce speed. Now instead of looking like representation and inclusion, it can look like apartheid and separation. But that's through the lens of now. What needs to be remembered is that those shelves aren't very old at all.
In the stores that have an LGBT section, I haven't seen much fantasy. More likely to see an author like Jeanette Winters on. Those sections do a disservice to readers some time. One store in St. Louis confined Octavia Butler to a dusty African American Literature section, where hardly any readers went, especially those looking for SFF, and had none of her work in the SFF section, which was always busy.
Yeah, they're a bit tricky, for sure. I think the system works much better online, when a single book can be tagged with multiple categories. In a bookstore it would be great if the book could be shelved in both sections, but considering the competition for shelf space that's probably not too likely.
I guess the LGBT section makes sense in terms of the books that are specifically about that topic, rather than simply featuring characters in the LGBT category, and I agree that it's at least better than nothing. Although, it seems like it would be rather worrying to get your book put in that section if it isn't specifically aimed at any section of the LGBT community. I honestly wouldn't even think to look there for Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
There are probably exceptions, but bookstores generally shelve books in the categories specified by the publisher of that book. So if your publisher is marketing your book as SF/F, the bookstore will likely shelve the book there. If your publisher is marketing your book as GayLit, the bookstore will probably shelve the book in that category, assuming they have a shelf for it.
At the very least, books in genres like SFF that feature LGBT characters or themes should be shelved in both areas. I think it is a bit demeaning to think you have to put them in a niche section and that readers in general Fantasy/SF won't be interested.
I say focus on making your story great. Sexual orientation of characters is irrelevant compared to the overall quality of the story. As it has been said, a character's sexual orientation, by itself, is no reason to dislike a story. It's how you go about writing it into the story that makes the most difference, I think. I mean I wouldn't even care if a certain character in a story was a pedophile; at least that fact alone wouldn't detract from the story for me. It would depend on how that aspect of the story was written. (No I am not comparing homosexuality to pedophilia.) I'm just saying ... context is most important.
I remember in Canada coming across Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story in the general fiction section of a bookstore. It includes a passage in which two twelve-year-old boys have sex. I couldn't believe I was reading it. I couldn't believe any mainstream publisher would publish it, or that any mainstream bookstore would sell it. But there it was.
Now you've done it. You've taken this thread to a place most here don't want to go. Truth is, most twelve-year-old boys (and girls) are sexual creatures. One of my works-in-progress features a MC who is a ten-year-old girl who engages in sexual (lesbian) conduct. It isn't a major plot point, but I think it's important to the character development. It's important, I think, that we acknowledge reality rather than hide behind cultural taboos.
I think it's sad this is even a question (I know it is, I'm just sad about it ). Go with it. Write the romance part just as you would any heterosexual romance, and blow everyone's mind with a lovely story and three-dimensional characterisation.
Speaking from experience, I wrote a thriller short film script, where a cop had to save his kidnapped love interest. However, only men auditioned, and I had to female actress. Because of this I thought about changing it so the cop had a male love interest, since I only had male actors to choose from. My gf told me to go with it, and that you never see homosexual male cops in thrillers, unless it's a big part of the story. But to have a male cop just be homosexual, with no reason behind it has never been done before. I thought it was a good idea, but I showed it to people and they thought it was shallow. Which is kind of a double standard. I mean when you watch Silence of the Lambs, the movie has no deep themes about Clarisse Starling's hederosexuality, but is not explored at all. When you watch Lethal Weapon, Martin Riggs, hederosexuality is not explored as a deep theme. But for some reason, whenever you want to create a gay character, the homosexuality MUST be explored as a deep theme, or it comes of shallow. Which I think is a double standard. I kind of have to think that the OP should be able to write a story with a lesbian character, and not have to explore it as a deep theme. Heck when it comes to fantasy stories, and that genre, that the OP is in, not even heroes like Peter Pan or Luke Skywalker's hederosexuality is explored, theme wise. So there is a serious double standard going on with audiences that we just have to deal with I guess.
If as you say she has naturally evolved as a lesbian then do not change it. It is very likely that the other characters respond to her as a lesbian so you would possibly have to re-write their reactions. This could potentially undermine any chemistry that characters have built up over the story.
On the other hand, I think when you've been asked by homosexuals to please make the homosexual relationships in your story and his homosexuality deep, it's a good idea to listen (comments I received when I realized my MC is a gay man). Considering there're so many deeply explored hetero relationships in the mainstream, why not add plenty of homosexual relationships of similar depth to the mix to kind like... tip the scales, so to speak? How it's being done with something that is mainstream and socially fully acceptable (straight relationships) doesn't necessarily apply to something that is marginalized (gay relationship) in the media. I love the idea of a gay male cop. In the TV show Warehouse 13, they glossed this over, and it actually bugged me. They explored other (straight) relationships, but not his? I was left wondering why. Because a traditionally masculine cop who happens to prefer men is too much (while lesbian relationships seem to be more ok)? Or simply 'cause they didn't get the chance? Either way, I wish they had. He was an interesting character.
That's true. I didn't end up making that short film cause everyone kept telling me that audiences wouldn't accept a homosexual relationship that is not explored, because the story was mainly a kidnapping hostage, story, with no homosexual themes. It's a police story, not a 'gay love story' as it was put to me, and audiences would not accept that in a different genre. However, the only reason why I made it a gay relationship is because I couldn't find a female actor to play the kidnapped love interest role. So it probably wouldn't work since the script was not written for the character to be gay in the first place. Since it was a last minute change because of lack of casting, it probably would have come off as tacked on and unnatural.
One way would be to deal with it as if her sexuality is a non-issue. Just have her fall for the girl with no dramas or questions asked by other characters...I have always wanted to read something that dealt with homosexual love in the same way as heterosexual. If you make it a big deal as the writer, than the audience will make it a big deal too.
I'd like to say something that I feel like only ares-desideratus touched on, and please understand I'm not jumping on a soap box here and feel free to disagree. "Gay people" don't run around farting rainbows, riding majestic unicorns, and spreading the gay germ to the masses through their insatiable sexual appetites. Gay people don't think of themselves as gay people. We're just people. We go through the same ups and downs with attraction and crushes and relationships, only people tend to get offended if our gaydar is malfunctioning and we hit on a "straight" person. More importantly what I'm trying to say is this; does it matter? Unless the point of your story is to write lots of racy sex scenes (kudos if that's your thing) sexual orientation does not define a person, and unless you're making a statement shouldn't define your story. If the only interesting thing about your heroine is that she's into ladies, it's time to break her down and rewrite. I don't think having a lesbian character will get you a one way ticket to the LGBT shelf. And a story that is well written and clever can avoid such detection and classification all together. Let the things you don't say draw the readers mind to the conclusion your character is gay. Finally I'll say this. Don't write her thinking she's a lesbian. "What would a lesbian do? I better have her flirt/sleep with every girl she sees, that's what lesbians do. Let's slap on a flannel shirt and an upper arm tattoo and pierce her septum--" Just write what's write. Let your characters tell their story through tou, and don't worry about the rest.
This thread brings to light a difficult question with the book I'm currently working on. My female MC is very sexual; there is a lot of background that creates this I won't go into but she frequently beds men against her better judgement. Part of the story is her trying to come to terms with why she does this. This, however, is not my conundrum. My problem is she rescues another girl who was in dire trouble (she sees herself in this girl). In my head the rescued girl, Lydia, is gay. The two are forced to hide out together after a daring rescue and I see Lydia making a move on my MC Brianna. Lydia sees Brianna as some sort of Florence Nightingale and is hopelessly attracted to her 'alpha' female persona. Brianna is hetero, and in fact dumped a boyfriend because he kept insisting on a MFF threesome. Brianna's conscience will scream But I'm not gay! when Lydia kisses her...but I wonder if, given her terrible success with men and sexual compulsive disorder, she would allow herself to have a tryst? Is such a scene honest or tacky/trying too hard? I originally envisioned them having sex when the story was coming together in my mind but as I draw closer to the point of writing the scene I'm starting to really question the authenticity. (FWIW Lydia doesn't survive much longer, so there is no continuing relationship)
You know your character better than we do, but this doesn't feel real to me. If her sexual compulsions have not included females in the past, I can't see why she'd make an exception for this occasion. And the "terrible success with men" idea kind of feeds into the idea that women are lesbians b/c they can't keep a man, or whatever, which probably isn't a stereotype you'd want to encourage? I can see a different sort of character, one who's got a healthier attitude toward sex, deciding to mess around with a same-sex partner just out of affection or curiosity or whatever. But the way I'm envisioning your character, she's having sex with inappropriate men b/c she's got power/control issues that are centered around men? So I don't think her compulsion would extend to a woman. Again, though, you know your character better than I do.
There has been no precedent to include female sexual partners in her past. Brianna has never noted that another woman is particularly attractive. The only other occurrence where she admitted another female was "prettier than her" was to a character's ex-wife who she instantly hated. So yeah; I'm beginning to think the sex scene shouldn't go beyond a kiss and a grope. Brianna may ask herself later if she should have just went with it out of curiosity (because an intimate, loving embrace is much different than the hot, lusty, clothes-shedding stuff she's used to). Ultimately, she's straight and will fall for a male love interest much later. The point of the lesbian interaction is really to knock her off her normal track; throw her a curve on a part of herself she thought she knew all about. I fervently don't want to write something disingenuous to gay people though.
I won't speak for my gender, but I will speak for the women I have known in my life. Women look at other women, evaluate each other for hair, makeup, fashion, physical traits. We can appreciate (or covet!) attractive features without feeling the need to jump someone's bones. Men are a different story. A woman who was comfortable with herself and approached sex so casually would not shy away from the experience, in my opinion. Let's be honest, sex is a pretty good time. From the perspective of "feeling good" the partner doesn't always matter, it's the connection, the intense feelings and emotions. You don't need a super Erotic scene to show this. If you're going for major contrast, the softer, subtler sides of intimacy would work to your benefit. Even if your MC walks away "straight" it's not a bad thing. We grow as people through our life experiences. Just my two cents....
