Our world has come a long way fast when it comes to LGBT rights. The landmark ruling just the other day in the USA is proof of that. In the so called 'Western World', more countries now allow gay marriage than those that don't. Hopefully countries like Australia catch up soon.
But one aspect that seems to be falling behind is the representation of gay characters in fantasy and science fiction. Very rarely are characters anything but heterosexual, and this is curious to me. Why is it, when a massive proportion of the world's population is willing to accept LGBT people, do we see a gaping void in fiction where the LGBT folk should be?
To be sure, there have been exceptions to this. Mercedes Lackey for one featured a number of gay characters, but sadly these usually fell into the trope of cliché and stereotype. In fact, this seems to be the norm for what few gay characters make it - they are cliché-driven stereotypes that only seem to be there to flaunt their own gayness or to make some sort of unsubtle point about the state of the world. From sassy best friends, to the inexplicably fashion conscious, to the tragic angst, every LGBT character is a caricature of themselves. Rarely the focus point of attention, the LGBT characters are there to stand on the sidelines, to cheer on the main characters and to act as a little checkbox for the author to tick on their 'minorities list'. Are we not long past the time where this should be so?
Another example of how LGBT characters are treated has come from one of the most successful book franchises of all time - Harry Potter. After the final book was released, J.K. Rowling came out on behalf of Albus Dumbledore. The great wizard was gay, and had been romantically involved with another wizard many years ago. While I respect Rowling, and adore her as an author, I can't help but wonder why this was never included in the books, and had to be announced after Deathly Hallows was released. Was she afraid readers wouldn't accept her creation as he was truly meant to be? I would like to think that Dumbledore's coming out would have helped change things in speculative fiction particularly, but I have yet to really see that.
From what I've read, I think the most natural portrayal of gay characters has come from the amazing Robin Hobb. There are LGBT characters scattered throughout her books, and they all feel quite natural. They are all varied with their own personalities, and don't fall too far into cliché. Yes, there are some gay characters who are fashion conscious, but I would argue this is more because they are noble born, rather than gay, The Fool is a particularly wonderful example of an LGBT character. Fool is a gender-ambiguous being with varying preferences and desires, and to my recollection it is never explicitly revealed who or what he/she is.
It is by taking example of Robin Hobb that I have tried to portray my LGBT characters: as natural, real parts of the world in which they live.
*Warning - some spoilers ahead for Destiny of Dragons and Reborn*
In Reborn, I created the race of starats - artificially created to be a slave race to humanity. Every last one of them is bisexual, and completely accepting of this in a time that has fallen back under religious control and conservatism. After Rhys' teleporter incident, he struggles to come to terms with bisexuality with his new starat body and mind. It doesn't play a major role in the story, but with two potential romantic leads at the end of the first book, I've left room to explore this much further in the rest of the series. Both Steph and Elijah will be able to play for Rhys' affections.
In the world of Reborn I like to think I have created a reasonable situation in which society has regressed from a lot of social rights we now expect. Gay marriage does not exist in this time, and LGBTs are barely tolerated at all under the new Catholic order. Starats, being free from the church, are not bound by the same morals and live much like we do today.
In Farenar, a whole different situation applies of course. In the Destiny of Dragons series to date, there hasn't been explicitly a gay character, but I have left large hints that one of the major characters is gay. This is properly revealed in the third book, but for those who are unwilling to wait that long, I can confirm that Azlak is gay. I deliberately underplayed this facet of his character because at no point was it relevant to reveal. Shy, quiet, and often ignored, Azlak had never had the opportunity to explore his sexuality until he started to gain the attention and respect of other dragons. Even though the reader got the chance to explore his mind, he never thought of it as he knew he would never get a mate. He could never See that future for himself, but in a rare moment of empathy for my characters, I have given him some happiness in book three (Azlak is my favourite character after all).
The reason I'm putting this all down is because I'd like to see a shift in the way gay characters are portrayed. The world has made huge steps recently. Small pockets of sub-genres have moved forward, but as a whole science fiction and fantasy has been lagging behind.
I would be proud to be at the forefront of that change.
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