LGBT Characters in Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Having cut my teeth on m/m romance (some historical and some fantasy) I'm now editing my first fantasy novel. So in six weeks or so I should be sending a fantasy with one gay and one bisexual hero off to my agent. (Plus a straight hero, a straight heroine and a heroine whose sexuality frankly hasn't come into it yet, though her gender identity is in some flux.) 

I've been worrying about how mainstream publishers will take to it as well, but I console myself with the thought that if they don't like it, I've already had interest from small presses, or I could always self publish.

The Nightrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling, no ambiguity there, LOL! Definitely bi and gay characters abound.

It is interesting that you write this.  Two years ago I purposefully created a lesbian character in my fantasy series.  There was no underlying reason why I did this, at least none that I know in my conscious mind, I just felt that this character was gay.  It never ocurred to me to even question the idea of reader acceptibility or taboos based on eras.  She called for it, I gave it to her.  Simple as that.

Marion Zimmer Bradley did great LGBT characters

I'll point out a type of writing activity some of us writers do. Roleplay. Almost all roleplayers are aspiring writers from my experience, and those of us who've done a lot of RP, whether on forum based writing or in an MMORPG have encountered the trope of the man who plays a lesbian, and essentially play it horribly realistic.

It's not too much of a stretch for me to imagine there's a certain stigma to it in fantasy, where folks might see anything sexual as excessive. (hell, in roleplay, sexuality of any kind is looked at oddly.) Hell, I've seen it here on the forums here, and other writing forums. An attitude of violence being A.Okay, and sexuality being bad or unnecessary. 

Lastly, the type of fantasy matters too. For my medieval-dark-low magic fantasy, I have a focus on the drama and the romance WITH the typical action. My main female in my finished manuscript is bisexual. In my current project, one of the main female characters is indeed a lesbian. One of the mighty chieftains is pretty much a closeted homosexual (it's expected of a chieftian to carry on his line in the culture I'm writing for) It really is up to the author, really.

I'm going to say, H.G. Giger's "Alien." It's neither male nor female.. Gay nor straight, and yet, there's something curiously sexual about the creature. I like that. :)

Awesome article, Marc, and definitely relevant. The Mists of Avalon was the first fantasy novel I read with any LGBT elements in it, and inspired me to write about it in my own work. I wish there was more out there, and more power to you for taking the risk with Hive.

The character Lundin in Adam Connell's SF novel Lay Saints is gay and black, and is a major character/force in the book. Worth checking out...

Caitlin Kiernan's fantasy/horror/dark fiction stories and novels are rife with GLBT characters as are those of Poppy Z. Brite. And I like and dislike them all. And for the right reasons. I think. Reasons relating to what kind of people they are.

+1 on Robert Heinlein.  Gay, bi, time travel sex (just what do you call having sex with your past/future self?), group sex etc...  And he brought polly into the light pretty much on his own.  Just about everything on the LGBT spectrum and beyond.  All written generations ago.

Reading Stranger in a Strange Land at 12 +/- (many years ago) pretty much makes me shock proof to the younger generations' cute little sexual antics.  And some of his other writings leaves me less than surprised by how things are going otherwise.

I'm another vote for Captain Jack Harkness :). Also, Dumbledore, though Rowling didn't bring him out of the closet until after the series was complete. I have several prominent LGBT characters in my own fantasy writing. The two main characters of first book in my Malora series are bisexual (on the Kinsey scale, I'd put Lani at a 2 and Dia at a 4). The fifth book has a narrator who falls in love with a person who switches genders every time he uses his magical ability. He identified female as a child, male as a young adult, and by the end, he identifies as neither. A male character also admits to loving him. This caused some pronoun issues, so I had him explain it that he wants to be called whatever gender he's presenting as at the time, so he is variable. Two of the protagonists of the middle book of my work-in-progress trilogy are a gay couple, but their status never really comes up in discussion because the narrator thinks nothing of it, it's just part of who they are.

As a gay writer, I include gay protagonist in my stories, partially because when I started writing I wanted to read about people like myself. Now I'm on a quest to show real qualities in gay characters not just a bunch of stereotypes. It's a hard fight because so many people just want to see the stereotypes, but I'm growing a fan base who like to see realistic portrayals of the LGBT community. It does my heart good when I get fan mail telling me that although my characters were gay, I didn't force the sex issue like so many do and I made the characters believable. The audience for gay fantasy/scifi is out there and they are looking for things to read. Thanks for the awesome post and some very interesting comments. Great way to get a dialog started and open a few eyes.

Check out almost any book by Laurel K. Hamilton. It's there. (LGBT characters) but it really doesn't intrude into the story, so I don't really care.

King David and Johnathan, do they count? lol

You forgot Anne McCaffrey.  She has several LG characters in her works.  I suggest her writings...for far more than just that.  She was the best SF/F writer in the galaxy, in my opinion!

I've been a writer for well over thirty years, and a voracious and eclectic reader (with a definite preference for fantasy), but up until a few years ago if I read a book with an element of 'romance', it was invariably heteronormative. Then I discovered fanfiction, and within a year had become a fan and writer of male/male stories. Although it's not important, I identify as a straight woman in a wonderful long-term relationship which is perhaps why I had grown tired of het romances. I found the power and dynamics of M/M relationships when woven into a story were fascinating and exciting. I wanted to read epic fantasy with all its grandeur and tragedy, but for the romantic or erotic relationships to be male/male. And I found them. I am not talking about 4,000 words of bad smut, but novel-length epics by mature adults who, like me, have been writing for years, but who have careers, and simply enjoy writing. Some of my favourite stories would be completely dog-eared and falling apart if they were published novels.

I honestly can't see myself ever gain  being satisfied with books where the relationships are heteronormative. M/M relationships, GBLT characters, and also subjects like polyamory are huge in fanfiction, and although one has to search for the good stories, there are more than one would think, especially in the older fandoms with experienced writers. (Of course we recommend exceptional stories too, which makes it easier). I wish the mainstream would catch up as there is, if fanfiction is anything to go by, a huge market for GBLT. I know only one e-publisher who deals with same-sex relationships: Dreamspinner Press. Fanfiction broke the the envelope a long time ago, dealing fearlessly and skilfully with GBLT characters. I just don't understand why mainstream is so laggardly in catching up.

1) There's a simple solution to "I'm not gay so I can't write gay characters because I don't know anything about gays." Research and/or talk to gay people. Read stuff written by them and about them, not stuff written by straights about gays. If you're going to get an accurate view of a marginalized and oppressed community, you listen to the people who are actually a part of it, not the allies' opinions. This is absolutely vital.

2) There's the larger problem that people automatically read fictional characters as straight until proven otherwise. Unless you check yourself, you will make these assumptions. That's why POC and LGBTQIA folks advocate for better representation all the time. Just as a character is white until the author describes them as black, a character is straight until the author states they're gay (or cisgender until proven trans*, able-bodied until proven disabled, etc). Open and obvious representation is fantastic, but it's also good to adjust your own mindset and not make assumptions. Even an uber masculine character who drinks hard liquor and owns 5 spaceships can still be gay.

3) The worst kind of representation is tokenism. If you have one gay male character, do NOT make him a one-dimensional sass machine. Likewise, your one lesbian character doesn't have to be a butch with a mohawk and an array of facial piercings. If she is, make her more than that. Remember that they're people. Avoid stereotypes.

4) In general, reading up about how marginalized groups exist in and experience the world will help you immensely in crafting good characters.

5) Also avoid queerbaiting, which is what a lot of popular shows are doing now. They write in all of this homoerotic tension between characters to cater to the fan base, but they don't actually make the characters gay. Don't do this for the sake of doing it. Fandom will make everyone gay anyway, but don't purposefully tease just because you know that.

6) Not every gay person has a dramatic story about coming out and being gay is not the only thing that gay people talk about.

7) There is more that falls under LGBTQIA issues than marriage equality, although that's an important component.

8) Always stick by this standard: CHARACTER; GENDER/RACE/ORIENTATION, ETC. Not GENDER/RACE/ORIENTATION,ETC.; CHARACTER. The fact that they're a person comes first.

ummm, excuse me... ELVES?

Rat Korga and Marq Dyeth, from SRD's *Stars in my Pockets like Grains of Sand*

Not that being LGBT is really important to be a character at all or why it is a significant reason why a character would be significant but I always suggested Pizza the Hut from Space Balls

I have a gay character in my Riyria Revelations series but it's "no big deal." In fact I don't think in all the letters and reviews I've ever seen that anyone has even mentioned the fact. Many readers might not even realize as it is mentioned only in passing. I think sometimes authors sometimes shine too bright a light on it which comes off a bit negatively to me.

Check out Gail Dayton, Jacqueline Carey, or Laurie J. Marks. All seem to address the subject as so normal and everyday that there is no reason to fuss about it. Its refreshing.

Have you read any of Hans Cummings stuff?

If you like LGBT characters  you really need to read the Last Herald Mage series by Mercedes Lackey. Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, Magic's Price. The main character is gay and has to deal with a lot of the issues a gay person would have to deal with in a society that didn't exactly like gay couples. Actually Mercedes Lackey touches on this kind of issue a lot in the Valdemar series, there are many gay couples, men and women.

One of my favorite novels is a cautionary tale called "The Immortals" by Tracy Hickman. In the future, gays are rounded up in concentration camp and unbeknownst to the rest of society are bombed every month or so. It was one of Hickman's most powerful novels because it dealt directly with how dramatically society can lose their humanity when they allow fear and bigotry to rule out. Quite a few of the characters were unsuspecting medical practitioners working at the camp where the story primarily takes place. It is available in print, ebook and as a podiobook if anyone is interested in checking out a good example of somebody dealing with the subject within a science fiction setting in the near future.

Now, to return to the topic, I've been reading and quite enjoying Melissa Scott's and Lisa A. Barnett's "Points" fantasy series (Point of Hopes, Point of Knives, Point of Dreams), about a casually bisexual society. It's an excellent series, with worldbuilding that is only strengthened by its wide diversity in characters. And I really like the main characters, a point (policeman) and a swordsman who eventually become lovers. (And, for those who need their reading material chaste, there is no sex on the page.)

I don't think the argument "I'm straight/Christian/white/Chinese/whatever so I couldn't write a realistic gay/Jewish/black/European/whatever character" holds much water. Yeah, it takes work for most people, and you're not going to achieve perfect results the first time you try, but it's a learnable skill. That's why Nisi Shawl and I wrote Writing the Other and teach the workshop of the same name. Imagine if I claimed I couldn't write realistically about people of faith because I'm an atheist, or couldn't write realistically about men because I'm a woman. I expect a wide range of people would tell get quite vocally upset. And they'd be right to disagree with me. Writing the Other breaks down the process into clear steps. But, to quote the late Octavia Butler, what you do when writing characters who differ significantly from you is "make them people."

I mean Marc.  Tried to fix that and it didn't work.  Gar.

Great article, Mike.   

Yes, Chris Tucker played Ruby Rod, but while fabulously flamboyant he only seem interested in women. I agree with Jason, though, that sexuality isn't really the main thrust (intended) of most SF-F. I could mention that a character was closeted and went off on some quest into space or the Crimson Wastes to avoid societal pressure but unless it's relevant to the alien hordes ahead or the lost orb of Celty, so what? You might as well ask why so few Chinese characters.

Harparin in the elenium series had sex boys (although arguably was a pedophiles) and there are at least a few gay characters in GRRMs aSoIaf. I could probably think if more if I cbf. It's a but of a non-issue to me. If you want to write LGBT characters into your books, do so. If you don't - don't. If you want to read about LGBT characters they exist - and have since Dorian grey or earlier

We're still in an era where gay protagonists are most common in stories about "gay issues." (It's like how, in countries where black people are a minority, black protagonists are most likely to appear in stories about racism.) Writers who want to write directly about gay issues, using actual gay characters, usually write realistic fiction so as to be as close to the subject as possible. Science fiction and fantasy writers sometimes approach the subject by creating societies where issues of gay and straight are different from how they are today, thus shedding light on what's permanent and what's not, but they're more common to take a distant view, writing about people who in some way parallel gays, often not even mentioning gayness. (For instance, vampires-as-gays, or mutants-as-gays.)

The upshot of this is that, so long as it's not common for gays to appear in works not focused on "gay issues", science fiction and fantasy will continue to feature gay stand-ins more often than actual gays.

What I mean by preference is, if you want to make characters who are gay, etc. go ahead. As a straight person I don't think I could create a realistic gay character. As a Christian I don't think I could do it, mainly for the same reason as above.

Not my thing, really. Does one's sexual orientation really matter in a story? But, this is all a matter of opinion and preference. @Jackie: Are you thinking of Chris Tucker?

Not my thing, really. Does one's sexual orientation really matter in a story? But, this is all a matter of opinion and preference. @Jackie: Are you thinking of Chris Tucker?

Although I do love my own gay characters of course LOL

I love the idea of a main character having 2 mums or 2 dads. That's something I definitely haven't seen in the genre. Ad my favorite is without doubt Ringit from Steel Remains.

The Doctor Who universe has quite a few GLTB characters. Many of whom are great.

R.A. Heinlein. He took sexuality to places nobody was comfortable with in his day (in science fiction or anywhere). These days it's not so alarming.

I'm happy to report that I've had my share of sexually confused or alternatively aligned characters in both science fiction and fantasy. Although in my futuristic sci-fi I tend to lean more towards sexuality being more open minded and who cares (I think that's called pansexual, but I don't keep up on the buzz words).

In fantasy though I agree, it's definitely pretty far and few between. I broke through that wall in my Voidhawk series, but outside of that I agree, it's still very much hidden under the bearskin rug.

Karen Wehrstein and Shirley Meier both do (great!) fantasy weblit with lots of bi characters, some homosexual, and there is one transgender character in Karen's current work.  Check them out.

There will definitely be G/B/L characters in my current WIP. In the society I'm writing, bi is sorta the default. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to work in a transgender character, for the reason that gender (and gender ROLES) are not important in this society. I don't think there'd really be much outward indication that a character was transgender, unless I went way out of my way to put it on the table somehow. We'll see.  

Have you read Storm Constantine's 'Wraeththu' trilogy? She writes a gay protagonist very well.

In Robin Hobb's 'Far Seer' 'Liveships' and 'Tawny Man' trilogies the fool is transgender (male in 'Far Seer' female in 'Liveships' and male in 'Tawny Man). In the books where the fool is male and Fitz is the MC, the fool is in love with Fitz.

If you look back to more ancient myths like 'The Iliad' and 'The Tain' you find hints that heroes such as Achilles and Cu Chulainn might be bi-sexual.

In my WIP people are free to sleep with / have relationships with who they please regardless of sex. The only rule is that those who possess elemental magic are expected to have sex with others with complementary elements to produce powerful offspring. Admittedly LGBT themes don't come to the fore in this novel as it's action based and my male MC is in love with a woman. It's hinted at that he had feelings for one of his male friends who he was forced to kill, but that story line will only be revealed if I get the chance to write a prequel.

I think you've probably captured the majority of the issue in the notes above, but I thought of another reason a normally socially conscious writer might avoid the topic.  Fear about doing it wrong.  This is something I'm struggling with right now.  

The backlash, if you mess up, is just as bad as doing it at all. So, I feel stuck.  I don't like the idea of not contributing to diversity in SF/F, but I also don't want to offend people simply because I wrote poorly.  As the saying goes, intent isn't magic. 

I'm too inexperienced at writing to take the chance.   I hope the writers at the height of their field-- in craft and audience--will show us newbies the correct way to proceed.  It would also be good to have more examples from LGBT writers;  I hope that publishers will be more open to new voices and perspectives.