LGBT+ Represenation that Needs to Happen
- Include characters that support their friends in relationships but have none of their own
- Include characters with healthy romantic relationships who are still ace
- If writing an aroace character, don’t act like their orientation defines them. Too many times, a character’s asexuality will overcome them and make them seem hard and careless. They’re not. They’re people too
- Have your character tell stories where they have experiences with multiple genders
- BUT the catch is, not every pansexual dates everyone they see. Some may rarely date while others have many partners. Remember that while writing
- Let them help your other characters with their relationships. They probably know a thing or two about who they personally think is cute, and pans helping others is my aesthetic
Nonbinary/Transgender People
- Don’t shy away from dysphoria. It’s hard to understand if you’re cis, but you’ll make a nonbinary person’s day if they see that the struggles they’re going through resonate with a character they admire
- Remember people who fluctuate. One day they may be a boy, another a girl, another something totally different. Highlight this change, make it a symbol of positivity
- Positive Dysphoria Tools. Let them practice safe binding or medicating properly with testosterone or estrogen. Too often, it’s seen as something harmful, but it really doesn’t have to be.
- Have a character who opens up to another character and falls in love over time rather than at first glance. It’s also an easy tool for character development
- Speaking of character development, demisexual people don’t have attraction right away, but they do have it. When the time finally comes for your character’s relationship, make it everything that a fast relationship would have
- Though demisexual is under the asexual, it’s not the same, so don’t fall under that trap. I know it might sound “too tumblr” to put into a book you want to publish, but trust me, we need to see it
- This should be obvious, but bisexuals aren’t greedy. Though they express interest in multiple genders, it doesn’t mean they flirt with everyone they see
- I love the badass bisexual trope, but it’s not always the case. Be sure not to have one personality trait define your character’s sexuality, and this is especially true for bisexual characters
- People who are bisexual aren’t always 50/50. Experiment with that 70/30 margin, or anything in between. Bisexuality is very fluid, and not as rigid as people think
- As many of you know, you can be bisexual but not biromantic, aromantic but not ace, etcetera. Try mixing and matching some orientations to have the perfect combination of representation
- Some people rely much more on their romantic orientation, while others like to label as their sexual orientation. Being panromantic, to me, is just as important as being bisexual, but for some, they may be more attached to the pan community than the bisexual one. You catch my drift
- Yes, that’s right, they are out there, and no, they’re not “somewhere between bi and pan”. Having a character explicitly saying “Hey, I’m poly” alone is a massive help
- Speaking of which, it’s very important to stay within the poly definition, so as not to trespass on other territories. If it’s your goal to have poly representation, then be sure to very specifically have attraction to some but not all genders
- What many polysexual people want in the media, I think, is just awareness. There aren’t really any tropes yet to go against, but remember that your character can be anyone, not just the internet girl in the back of the class
- A lot of people, some who I know included, think that being polyamorous is a hipster thing. Normalize it, don’t just make some teens do it for fun.
- People who are in a polyamorous relationship are in a relationship like anyone else. Don’t treat their relationship any different than your other characters
- And that’s not just for dating. Some poly people can even settle down and have families, so maybe have some poly characters talk about that, you know, like real people
Long story short, representation matters, and I don’t just mean with the white gays. Every little side remark about liking the opposite gender from your characters really is making a difference, not only in the LGBT+ community, but the writer one, too. With little things, you could make a massive difference.
