Alright, a new day a new rant from Luv. This is about queer characters. LGBTQA+ representation is steadily on the rise within stories. Some stories are even coming out with queer friends/LI. My rant here is going to discuss queer friends and the “gay BSF trope” that has seemed to infect some stories.
So let’s first define some terms. The Gay BSF is the culmination of every queer stereotype rolled into a character. These look different for each character, however, some topics will be brought to the stands.
Clothing
Clothing is a defining part of any character because it can tell you a lot about a character. If they seem a bit disheveled they come across as sloppy or disorganized. Prim and pristine characters dress to impress on the daily. This becomes an issue when it becomes the defining feature of a character. To begin the discussion on clothing, a disclaimer: clothes are only problematic when they become a stereotype. Of course, some gay characters will dress more feminine and some lesbians will dress masculine, however that dress code should not become the character’s entire personality. Now with that out the way, let’s get into the discussion. LGBTQA+ members get this… human. This means while being gay or trans tends to be a big part of them as a character, that is not a defining feature of their existence. They can dress for their profession, or better yet the same clothes everyone else wears in your story. This is because not every gay male is flamboyant, wearing a crop top and tired khaki shorts with some boat shoes, and not every lesbian girl is a rebellious tomboy that rocks side-swept hair (a bonus for a side shave) piercings, and doc martins… we are still human beings at the end of the day. Our clothing should represent as such. Try to diversify your character’s wardrobe. They don’t need a crop top with every costume change. Not every item needs to have a rainbow. They don’t need to rock the same monotonous style because you (or at least I don’t think you do) rock the same style of clothes for every occasion.
Mannerisnms
Mannerisms. This is a big one. Your gay BSF does not own AAVE. They cannot use AAVE if they are white, Latino, native; anything less than black. They do not have to use the same slang or hold themselves in the same way that you often see in every other representation of LGBTQA+ members. A good example of this would be Dear White People on Netflix. If you look at them once you would NEVER know their sexual orientation based on their speech or tone. Don’t feel the need to make your character use AAVE (especially if they’re not black or if you do not know what that word really means). Don’t feel as if you need to make them flamboyant or a meathead DL boy. They come in a range of colors and personalities, play around with it.
Dynamics
Ok, this is a non-negotiable. your Gay BSF is not a mean girl… They are not a sassy yet classy character. They are not the lapdog to your MC. They are not I repeat not advice machines. Do NOT reduce them to such. make sure your characters have a healthy (or unhealthy if the story calls for it) dynamic that does not fall into a stereotype.
Erasure
This is where it gets tough because alongside all of this there comes the discussion of misrepresentation and erasure. the LGBTQA+ experience globally is different than any straight, cis person’s experience. As such, mannerisms, expressions, etc. come with the playing field. This rant was NOT to say you can never use some of these tropes commonly associated with the community because we as a community created some of these tropes. Where it becomes an issue is when these tropes become the only part of a character. That leads to flat characters that have no depth and meaning. This is the line in the sand. If you want to make a character that is apart of the LGBTQA+ community, do your research. Try to reach out to someone you know who is in the community to review a character and their scenes (PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY DO NOT ASK SOMEONE WHO IS GAY TO REVIEW THE EXPERIENCE OF A TRANS CHARACTER. THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS!!). If you do not have someone readily available, this community is ready to help you make a fantastic character, and make sure you get the tone right for them. Don’t be a stranger, I’ll be here all night!
Much Love,
Luv
