Proper LGBT Representation: The character has a fleshed out personality and backstory, and just happens to be gay/bi/trans.
Tumblr’s idea of LGBT representation: A lesbian who runs around everywhere singing “I’M GAY, DA BA DEE DA BA DIE, DA BA DEE DA BA DIE, DA BA DEE DA BA DIE…”
I mean, could we not have both? That is, their sexuality is a part of their character. Particularly when the story takes place in our imperfect world.
you know that’s not what i fucking meant.
i just meant that a character’s entire personality shouldn’t just be based around their sexuality.
their sexuality can be a part of their character, but if they have no character beyond their sexuality, then they’re not good representation.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten for writing characters is that if i suspect the character is too reliant on a particular characteristic of theirs (powers, race, sexuality, favourite colour anything really) is to try and remove that characteristic from them for a chapter or mentally remove it from all previous chapters, if the entire character falls apart or seems to have no purpose or seems super ooc after removing one characteristic you’ve probably got a shit character (i say probably cause in very very very very very rare cases it can work)
This can especially come of as tokenism if you’re doing it with minority groups. Characters can have full on story arcs around and talk about their sexuality, race, disabilities, etc without having it be their only characteristic or purpose of existance all together.
If a character’s defining feature is their sexuality, they’re not a character. They’re a caricature. Even and especially in narratives where their sexuality is a major part of the plot, the character should still be multi-dimensional. Think about it: when writing fictional characters, regardless of what form of media you’re writing for, you’re essentially creating made-up human beings. (or other species, whatever. largely sentient beings.)
Humans are complex creatures. They have thoughts, feelings, things they enjoy, things they dislike. And, NEWSFLASH: Queer people have all those things too! Gay people have them! Bi people have them! Ace and aro people have them! Trans people have them! Nonbinary and genderqueer people have them!!! We are all humans; we all have a rich inner life of thoughts and emotions and preferences and prejudices. We all have a backstory, a history, and a future. Some of us have mental illnesses; some of us have physical illnesses or disabilities; some of us love differently than others; some of us have experienced abuse; some of us have none of those things.
If you build your character around one central characteristic and some stereotypes and forget to build them a personality – regardless of what that characteristic is, be it their sexuality, their gender, their race, etc. – your character is gonna read like a cardboard cutout rather than a person. And no one wants to read or watch content about two-dimensional characters. If you want your audience to care about your characters, to relate to them and to invest in them emotionally, you have to make them feel real. Not like a caricature.
i mean i’m gay as fuck and i was beaten for even being SUSPECTED of being queer as a child so i’m gonna be fucking loud about it and shit. I’m not the only queer person who finally feels free after repressing their identity for years. Miss me with this idea that we’re less worthy of being in media if we fight for our rights and talk about our identities. Like legit go suck an egg.
Amazing. You took a post written by an LGBT person about wanting better LGBT representation and somehow managed to twist it into a message that I did not intend.
Granted, I made the post very quickly and could have worded myself much better (and will probably write up another post to elaborate) but still.
You can have your character’s sexuality play a factor in their personality, actions, story, etc, but there needs to be more to a character than just their sexuality. If their entire character revolves around them being gay, then they’re not a character, they’re a caricature, and quite frankly, we deserve better representation than that.
At the very least, this experience has taught me a valuable lesson. NEVER use hyperbole on Tumblr, because Tumblr does not understand hyperbole.
lmao, they blocked me and vagued about me
bitch, it ain’t my fault you decided that I was a homophobe despite the bi pride flag in my icon being pretty fucking clear, and it’s CERTAINLY not my fault you decided to block me once i elaborated on what i actually meant.
but hey, if that’s the hill you wanna die on, by all means.
(also “younger gay”, bitch you’re only 6 years older than me)
>An older Gay
They sure as hell don’t act like it, that’s for sure.
I love that they say “Older Gay” and “Younger Gay” as though to imply that they’re much older than me and therefore have more gay wisdom, when in reality they’re 27 and I’m 21.
Rex's place 