forum "As a person of the LGBTQA+ community, what stories do you wish you saw more of?": LGBTQA+/ SAGA advice and support forum.

Started April 18, 2018 by @Twitchy

tune

I haven't seen those at all. I'm just stating a bloody opinion, not trying to cause a flamewar.

No offense intended.

Yeah. People talk about how Rick Riordan's work is such brilliant representation, but…I don't really think it is? Nico was outed as gay and it hadn't even been hinted at before, Will went from being not even a secondary character to a love interest with practically no buildup in one book, and Alex's entire personality is based on being genderfluid. Nico should've come out when he was ready, not because Eros forced him to. Will should've been introduced as a major character in Book 1 of HoO, and have more time with Nico than a few chapters of Book 5. Alex should have traits that don't stem from Alex's gender.

No offense intended.

None taken. What we're saying is that Brooklyn 99 has some great LGBTQA+ characters with personalities that aren't centered around their sexuality. If you haven't seen the show, I recommend you watch it. It's amazing.

I haven't seen those at all. I'm just stating a bloody opinion, not trying to cause a flamewar.

I was just suggesting a show with good representation. You should watch it! :)

Yeah. People talk about how Rick Riordan's work is such brilliant representation, but…I don't really think it is? Nico was outed as gay and it hadn't even been hinted at before, Will went from being not even a secondary character to a love interest with practically no buildup in one book, and Alex's entire personality is based on being genderfluid. Nico should've come out when he was ready, not because Eros forced him to. Will should've been introduced as a major character in Book 1 of HoO, and have more time with Nico than a few chapters of Book 5. Alex should have traits that don't stem from Alex's gender.

AGREED. Rick Riordan's books have great racial representation, but as for sexuality it is pretty poor.

OKAY Y'ALL I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER THING I WANNA SEE
I have like 5 minutes before my laptop dies so
a character who like
has no idea they're LGBT+ at the beginning of the story
and actually goes through questioning and discovering and identifying
like I want that
okay please and thank you bye now

Ooh yes I agree

OKAY Y'ALL I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER THING I WANNA SEE
I have like 5 minutes before my laptop dies so
a character who like
has no idea they're LGBT+ at the beginning of the story
and actually goes through questioning and discovering and identifying
like I want that
okay please and thank you bye now

I'M LITERALLY WRITING ONE. Also: 'Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'.

OKAY Y'ALL I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER THING I WANNA SEE
I have like 5 minutes before my laptop dies so
a character who like
has no idea they're LGBT+ at the beginning of the story
and actually goes through questioning and discovering and identifying
like I want that
okay please and thank you bye now

I'M LITERALLY WRITING ONE. Also: 'Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'.

I LOVE THAT BOOK
ALSO CAN I READ YOURS

Hey guys I have a question: is there a specific way you guys would like to see transgender people portrayed in books? I am writing a book currently with a transgender main character, and I don't want to offend anyone with the way I write him. Any pointers?

Hey guys I have a question: is there a specific way you guys would like to see transgender people portrayed in books? I am writing a book currently with a transgender main character, and I don't want to offend anyone with the way I write him. Any pointers?

I can't really say bc I'm not trans myself, but I would recommend watching/reading some content with trans representation.
Examples:

• Glee (Netflix): This show is cringey and annoying sometimes, but it's also fun and has lots of great representation racially and sexually!
• Trevor Moran (YouTuber): They have struggled with their identity a lot and would be interesting to learn from.
• Sam Collins (YouTuber): Sam is female to male transgender, and is pretty good at explaining identity and the like. He's also very funny and sarcastic.

I'm sure there are other examples too, or better ones, but these are just my suggestions :) good luck!!

Thanks!

I think queer disabled or sick people are particularly underrepresented. It feels like whenever I see a disabled character in media they are either incredibly sad about being sick or disabled and then saved by a hetero romance or they are sexless pining Sad tm. As a chronically ill lesbian who will love her girlfriend in or out of a wheelchair and isn't sad about being disabled, it's really frustrating never seeing anything that even remotely represents my experiences in media. Feel free to dm me if you want any insight on writing such characters or anything! -M

I think queer disabled or sick people are particularly underrepresented. It feels like whenever I see a disabled character in media they are either incredibly sad about being sick or disabled and then saved by a hetero romance or they are sexless pining Sad tm. As a chronically ill lesbian who will love her girlfriend in or out of a wheelchair and isn't sad about being disabled, it's really frustrating never seeing anything that even remotely represents my experiences in media. Feel free to dm me if you want any insight on writing such characters or anything! -M

GIRL let's get in touch!! I need more representation and queer insight for my writing.

@kat_i_am @quietquirks I'm writing a story right now where the mc is straight at the start of the book, as he is living with his abusive father who wants to 'keep' his son. This is a dystopia, and when sleeping in a truck, a guy accidently kidnaps him. As the story goes on (to not spoil anything) he starts realising who he is, who he can be, and who he wants to be, not who is father wants him to be. More people group together to survive, but he's in a safe place. He lets himself feel more without judging himself and he realises he loves the guy who accidently kidnapped him - Alastair. This is a really bad explanation of the plot cause, I really like it. I think it's something I needed growing up. The mc, Alex, is biromantic like me so it feels good to write for who I used to be.
I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got growing up was to write for you. Write what you need or needed to hear. Look at your kid self and whatever you wish that you could tell them, write to them, then make a story out of it.

@kat_i_am @quietquirks I'm writing a story right now where the mc is straight at the start of the book, as he is living with his abusive father who wants to 'keep' his son. This is a dystopia, and when sleeping in a truck, a guy accidently kidnaps him. As the story goes on (to not spoil anything) he starts realising who he is, who he can be, and who he wants to be, not who is father wants him to be. More people group together to survive, but he's in a safe place. He lets himself feel more without judging himself and he realises he loves the guy who accidently kidnapped him - Alastair. This is a really bad explanation of the plot cause, I really like it. I think it's something I needed growing up. The mc, Alex, is biromantic like me so it feels good to write for who I used to be.
I think one of the best pieces of advice I ever got growing up was to write for you. Write what you need or needed to hear. Look at your kid self and whatever you wish that you could tell them, write to them, then make a story out of it.

That story sounds awesome. I always saw the saying, "write for you", but I never quite put it to use. This is a good push to go and do it. Thanks!!
PS I rly hope you get published bc GIRL THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD

hi can we have some trans representation that's a thing I haven't ever really seen in most mainstream media thaaaaanks

and can it be decent representation while we're at it? also thanks

And can I pleeeeeeeease have my trans characters? I want them so bad but I can't write about transgenderness without it becoming just another self-insert so can someone else do it please? thanks

Also can they be happy? Like, for the most part? Can trans people please be happy and mentally stable that's a thing i'd like to see. Not tragically depressed transgender people because yeah its tough but it doesn't make life not worth living. thaaanks

also can this trans character not just be fetish fuel? thanks.

Also can being trans not define them? Can they be things other than trans? But also trans? Like adventurers, artists, spies, detectives, gods, dragon-tamers, royalty, etc. thaaaanks

also can we stop queer-baiting? it's not representation. Its just manipulation of a representation-starved demographic and it's immoral and cruel. thanks.

@quietquirks Idk how to start a direct message lmao (I've got worse tec skills than my 89-year-old grandmother who bearly speaks English) but if you know how, hit me up!

@amayon's-missing-soul Hey! To be honest, I love self inserts. Most of the time when you read a book you don't know it's a self-insert until you find out about the author more, and any time that I've done that and found out that a certain theme, character etc. is based on a person's action experiences or personality, I love it. It's like watching a tv show and finding out that it's an exaggerated documentary. It makes your story more reliable. At the same time, writing about characters or experiences without actually have been through that is great too, it just takes some research some times. Nobody was alive when the Moses story actually happened (if it did, but that's not important rn), but the creators of the Prince of Egypt movie worked with individuals from many faiths to get the story as correct as they could. Write what you want to read, and/or what YOU want to write.

Can we get some characters that don't get harassed for their gender or sexuality? I mean, I want to read about characters who are LGBTQA but it doesn't define them, aka I don't want to just read about the gay best friend again and again. For my realistic fiction WIP, the MC is a bi girl, but it isn't all there is to her character. She's also a nerd, into Shakespeare, and obsessed with Hamlet. Her friends are a sporty and excitable pan girl, a quiet ace girl who does nail art, an ace boy who loves solving and reading about mysteries, and his twin sister, a lesbian who plays lacrosse and acts in Shakespeare plays. I chose for the book to be more of a 'slice of life' type story than a 'however will they survive HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!' story because I want LGBTQA teens to be able to read their story and not have to deal with insults and harassment being flung at Della and Co. because I don't know about y'all, but if I'm reading a book and a character insults or mocks a trait or characteristic I have, it makes me feel a bit depressed and uncomfortable, and I know people read books for a safe journey to another world.

You know what, I've been outlining my story, and I think that I'll have to change my main characters (the three who's point of view I am writing from) and I think that I will actually have to write them all as asexual, or just show their romantic side, cause I actually can't view somebody like that. Two of the mains love each other, and I can write about how Alex's soft giggle warms Alastair's chest and flushes his cheeks, forcing him to almost mimic Alex's laugh. A bad imitation but it only makes Alex giggle more, forcing Alastair to cover his mouth to avoid any more embarrassment. Alex notices this and feels guilty, thinking that he's done something wrong and so, he suddenly stops laughing. His body seems to stiffen as he draws his arms to his stomach. Alastair smiles softly, moving towards him and wrapping a long arm around Alex's back. "I know this sounds… kind of sadistic considering the world right now, but I think this is the happiest I've been in a very long time." Allie says, pressing his lips to Alex's brown, scruffy hair and holding them there for a moment. Alex freezes as he feels the soft warmness of Alastairs breaths; fighting the cold night breeze to touch his skin. He can feel words forming and collapsing in his mouth. Feeling them out and swallowing each. Alastair's mouth falls into a line as he holds Alex tight, and lets go, quickly standing and walking back towards the light of the caravan. Alex watches the fire, listening to each leaf crinkled and twig snapped from his steps. "I love you too…" He barely whispers to the flames as cold tears escape his eyes, wetting his smoke-stained cheeks.

Ok… that weirdly got sad but I can't write sex scenes or even sex thoughts just things like that (but happier too haha)

@Twitchy I don't want to write about my own experiences. They're not good experiences and I don't want to force myself to relive them for the sake of a story

@amayon's-missing-soul Fair doos, do what you want. I feel the same, and so a lot of the stories I right have deep moments or, are overall quite sad, but personally reliving experiences with the ability to change them helps me a lot. Whatever you do or write, you should enjoy yourself. Sorry if what I said sounded forceful before, I didn't mean it to.

Can we get some characters that don't get harassed for their gender or sexuality? I mean, I want to read about characters who are LGBTQA but it doesn't define them, aka I don't want to just read about the gay best friend again and again. For my realistic fiction WIP, the MC is a bi girl, but it isn't all there is to her character. She's also a nerd, into Shakespeare, and obsessed with Hamlet. Her friends are a sporty and excitable pan girl, a quiet ace girl who does nail art, an ace boy who loves solving and reading about mysteries, and his twin sister, a lesbian who plays lacrosse and acts in Shakespeare plays. I chose for the book to be more of a 'slice of life' type story than a 'however will they survive HIGH SCHOOL!?!?!' story because I want LGBTQA teens to be able to read their story and not have to deal with insults and harassment being flung at Della and Co. because I don't know about y'all, but if I'm reading a book and a character insults or mocks a trait or characteristic I have, it makes me feel a bit depressed and uncomfortable, and I know people read books for a safe journey to another world.

F. YES. Get published because I want to read some pure, wholesome LGBT+ stuff!!