emmarowene
Acolyte
No, no, no, no, no. I strongly, strongly disagree with anybody who says not to mention it. When you're writing about typically marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ people, subtext isn't enough. You can't imply queerness, because then straight people will just deny that they're queer.
And I have no idea how you can write fantasy and think you should only include what's absolutely indispensable to the plot. The worldbuilding and the characters are two of the most important elements of the genre, and oftentimes developing these things will require adding details that aren't "indispensable." If you want to create real, believable characters (the things that drive and make a good story), you have to develop them. They have backstories and they have interests and they have motives and they have attractions. Without these things, they'd be boring and flat. So yes, if someone's gay, you should include that. It's a part of who they are.
On that note, onto the actual thread topic. I think that, as long as it comes from a real and genuine place, people won't confuse your representation for tokenism.
Also, here's another hint: queer people are *starved* for representation. We eat it up, because we so rarely get positive representation. The only people who are ever worried about "tokenism" are people who aren't a part of the group being represented.
And I have no idea how you can write fantasy and think you should only include what's absolutely indispensable to the plot. The worldbuilding and the characters are two of the most important elements of the genre, and oftentimes developing these things will require adding details that aren't "indispensable." If you want to create real, believable characters (the things that drive and make a good story), you have to develop them. They have backstories and they have interests and they have motives and they have attractions. Without these things, they'd be boring and flat. So yes, if someone's gay, you should include that. It's a part of who they are.
On that note, onto the actual thread topic. I think that, as long as it comes from a real and genuine place, people won't confuse your representation for tokenism.
Also, here's another hint: queer people are *starved* for representation. We eat it up, because we so rarely get positive representation. The only people who are ever worried about "tokenism" are people who aren't a part of the group being represented.
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