I demand an explanation for this shit.

[megwrites]

Dear Authors of the World,

If I read one more novel where the only openly gay, lesbian, trans, or bi character in the book dies, somebody's getting a fucking slap. I'm getting tired of this. That makes two books in a row, and I've lost count of how many in total.

I'm not asking that no GLBT characters ever die. But maybe if there's only one in the whole book, they could, I dunno, live to see the sequel. Or you could have more than one token queer. Whichever.

And yeah, same goes with race and gender. If the straight, white males or straight white people or straight males (or any permutation therein) have a higher survival rate than everyone else? Then the problem is with you and not me and you need to get some help for that.

Because I promise you that it will translate into your sales being at least one book less than they would have been.


Love Conditional On Compliance,
Me

Comments

Try this...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Read Island in the Sea of Time and its sequels. S.M. Stirling's Lesbian main character gets to rescue a captive princess, get married, and have a family. That's after the island of Nantucket gets thrown ~3000 into the past.

Re: Try this...

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I'll make sure to try that one out. It sounds great. I'd love to see the girl rescuing the princess! :)

Re: Try this...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I think you'll enjoy it; the scene is very intense.

Another good background-parity example is Wen Spencer's "Ukiah Oregon" series about a young man raised by wolves. His adoptive parents are a Lesbian couple, with a mutually genetic daughter (yay, technology!) named Cally. Ukiah's family makes occasional appearances in the books, but it's very clear that home life with them contributed hugely to his personality.

[denoue-moi.livejournal.com]

That was so normal for movies and books years ago. It was the only way they'd get published/made because of codes and stuff. I guess it's tradition now.

Still, it sucked ass when Jenn and I were at the theater watching Watchmen. We cuddled closer and felt so happy when Silhouette kissed her nurse lover. And then so sad and a little threatened when the scene changed to show them murdered on their bed.

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

I guess it's tradition now.

Well, a lot of it, I think is a lot of unconscious homophobia on the part of writers who know they should be diverse in the GLBT sense, but aren't sure what to do with GLBT characters (because ZOMG! The gays are so different from hetties!) so they sort of kill them off and think that maybe, somehow, they makes them a tragic hero and will get them the Diversity Pass without them having to really write a gay character.

And you're right. IT SUCKS SO MUCH ASS. Frankly, I was disappointed about that in Watchmen. Couldn't they have just had the lesbians go into hiding? I could deal with that. I mean, plus, to have a character who was so radically open at a time (I mean, dude, the 1940's) when that sort of thing could get you beat up, killed, or incarcerated in a mental institute just deserved better treatment.

*sigh*.

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

That may be a case of being too true to the source material being a bad idea in a different medium. (There was another character that also died in that time period, who's not really in the film)

Which isn't to say it's unproblematic in the source, but they also aren't the only lesbians in the graphic novel.

I thought the correct answer for what to do with GLBT characters was have them need to call a plumber. or HVAC. Saying they own as opposed to rent. If they're more hands on, they could rebuild an engine.