6 Stereotypes To Avoid In LGBTQIA+ Fiction

If you’re writing a gay character, write them like you would any other character. But be aware of some of these six worn-out stereotypes before you start.

Whether they’re the hero or a craven villain, give your gay characters complexity, give them a great back story and an even greater plot. Make them grow and sweat and struggle. Give them flaws, make them human. Keep readers guessing about what they’ll do next.

However, some stereotypes tagged onto LGBTQIA+ communities can pose challenges for writers.

6 Stereotypes To Avoid In LGBTQIA+ Fiction

The six stereotypes below – often ingrained in media portrayals – may inadvertently influence a portrayal of a gay character.

Ditch The Shallow Stereotypes

Whether you identify as part of this community or not, the risk of falling into these clichéd and stereotype traps is something to perhaps watch out for. Why? There is always a danger that any unconscious bias could result in characters that are less relatable and more predictable. Or, worse, offensive. Deeply offensive.

More often or not there is perhaps just lazy writing behind these missteps than true malice  – but you could be harming your story (and your reputation).

Yes, there are writers who intentionally ‘bash’ LGBTQIA+ experiences. They have agendas. Some may have talent, but most usually lack subtlety or nuance. Are they likely to disappear from the literary scene? Probably not.

That’s why there is a responsibility on the rest of us to create gay and lesbian characters who are never one-dimensional.

Read the 5 Mistakes Beginner Writers Make When Creating Characters

6 Stereotypes To Avoid

 

1. The Tragic Ending

There’s nothing inherently wrong with a tragic or downbeat ending, as we’ve seen in classic novels like James Baldwins’ Giovanni’s Room or Isherwood’s novella A Single Man. If it is integral to the plot and feels authentic why not?

The real issue comes in when we start to view these sad outcomes as the only fate awaiting gay characters, creating a dangerous narrative that suggests a bleak destiny for anyone who exists outside societal norms.

Putting homosexual persecution into historical fiction is one thing, but perhaps not when we’re writing new stories.

2. The Big Gay Closet

As a gay man, I’ve always found the concept of ‘coming out of the closet’ to be a bit overdramatic – it’s not like you’re a debutante or the latest model of a car.

However, that is a subjective opinion and probably stems from some of my own biases. For many, revealing a hidden part of themselves to loved ones can be both a painful and liberating experience.

This struggle often provides rich material for writers, creating inner conflict and tension with other characters. But ‘coming out’ can’t be the main plot, as in the movie In&Out with Kevin Klein. This would be limiting and reductive (as if to say that a character’s sexuality is their only defining trait).

In some stories like Brokeback Mountain the characters are never able to leave the closest, which leads to one of those tragic endings. In a less skillful author’s hands, this story could have been a mawkish melodrama. 

3. The Pigeon Hole

When writing a gay male character, he doesn’t have to be a hairdresser, a backup dancer, a fashion editor (Devil Wears Prada), or the straight girl’s flamboyant sidekick (Will & Grace) – just as not all lesbians are not airport security staff or mud wrestlers.

This kind of pigeonholing is among the worst forms of stereotyping. It will lead to sweeping generalisations rather than unique characterisation –work hard to create a different story or write better characters.

Of course, some stereotypes persist, such as the idea that all gay or bisexual individuals are promiscuous and spend every weekend at trashy clubs, that all transgender women are drag artists, or that all gay people can’t be religious or spiritual.

To avoid this, as writers we should challenge these outdated clichés, do thorough research, and pay attention to the world around us – in coffee shops, workplaces, politics – and dig a little deeper into our imagination.

Listen To Creativity & Imagination

4. The Gay Villain

In the 90s, there was a backlash from gay and lesbian communities in the US regarding the films The Silence of the Lambs and Basic Instinct. In the first, the controversy stemmed from the portrayal of a transgender serial killer who gruesomely murdered women in a misguided quest to ‘transition’. The second presented its lead characters as oversexed ice-pick-wielding sociopathic lesbians.

With gay and lesbian characters woefully underrepresented in mainstream media at the time, it was irresponsible of Hollywood to further perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

On the other hand, Thomas Harris’s Buffalo Bill was a superbly crafted ‘monster’ that fit the book and film’s high Gothic horror aesthetic. In contrast, all the characters in Basic Instinct came across as tin-type clichés that were never really meant to be taken seriously.

In any event, be cautious about depicting gay women as men-haters or homosexual men as predators, unless it is an integral part of your plot planning. For instance, if it serves as a misdirection, a plot twist, or a way to highlight contemporary issues through storytelling, then it could work brilliantly.

5. The Miraculous Transformation 

In some stories, we encounter the cringe-worthy trope of the young, confused, sensitive boy who has only had gay experiences because he hasn’t yet found the right girl to make him a ‘man’. (Thankfully, this narrative is becoming less common).

The reason it strikes an off-key note is that it tries to resurrect that hoary argument that homosexuality is a choice or a temporary phase. If you speak to any gay person, they will tell you that this is not true.

Human sexuality is as unique as a fingerprint. As a writer, it allows you to explore how sexuality intertwines with relationships, self-worth, and expression within the context of a rich, well-developed story.

6. The Whitebread Middleclass Gay

When I worked at a gay magazine in the early 2000s, I realised I was guilty of ignoring the intersectionality of the gay experience. It was a shameful wake-up call.

Until I started interviewing people of different races, cultures, and backgrounds, I thought everyone went through the mild angst of a white suburban kid coming out to a loving family – where the only burdens were crushing Catholic guilt and awkwardness at Christmas dinners with the extended family.

I discovered that some LGBTQIA+ individuals had endured brutal correctional rapes, homelessness poverty, cruel family rejection, and legal discrimination that was far outside my own reality. These people were certainly not at the disco every weekend.

The truth is that we don’t see enough diversity in gay fiction – stories that move us away from white picket fences to the edges of survival.

As a writer, look beyond the narrow confines of your own lived experiences. Doing so will not only build a sense of empathy in your writing but also provide you with the opportunity to tell stories that have never been told before.

Strike A Different Note

Many writers can transform stereotypes into rich, multifaceted, and diverse characters to get readers hooked and race up the bestseller charts – like Graeme Aitken’s satirical Vanity Fierce  (a retelling of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair), Michael Nava’s Henry Rios mysteries, tense and intelligent stories in the detective genre, and more recently the Heartstopper collection of graphic novels.

There writers use powerful storytelling techniques, like satire and irony, or simply outrageous honesty. They challenge preconceived notions while whipping up narratives that are both engaging and enlightening. They take genre conventions and give them original twists.

The good ones keep up with the shifts in gender and sexual identity. The great ones are a step ahead – with radical ideas and thought-baiting controversies.

They are not lazy, ignorant, or timid. They’re setting out to tell the best story they can.

The Final Word

‘Tell a good story’ is always the one rule you should follow. However, a story that merely highlights a character as a stereotypical gay figure will probably never be a good story.

By Anthony Ehlers. Anthony Ehlers facilitates courses for Writers Write. He writes awesome blog posts and workbooks too.

More Posts From Anthony:

1. The Powerful Bonds Of Six Fictional Brothers And Sisters
2. 5 Secrets To Writing A Strong Inciting Incident
3. 5 Reasons To Start Writing A Story With Viewpoint In Mind
4. 7 Extraordinary Authors With Extraordinary Word Counts
5. The 5 Easiest Genres To Plot
6. The 5 Toughest Genres To Plot
7. Action Is The Hero
8. 5 Fears That Keep You From Finishing Your Novel
9. 5 Ways To Look At Viewpoint (Slightly Differently)
10. 5 Fresh Starts To Your Writing

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