As a life long fan of sci-fi and fantasy it annoys the hell out me when I see authors recycle the same trite crap. Yes Tolkien created the epic fantasy but that’s no reason there shouldn’t be innovation. What I can’t stand the most is the lack of decent stories which feature strong LGBT characters.
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| image Alexander Rist via sxc.hu |
The worst are ones with blatant tokenism that amounts to “hey look me, I’m the LGBT mage, knight, or space marine and every one hates me for it. Gage me. I’d rather have none than these card board cut outs whose sole purpose is either coming out or hopping into a relationship the first other LGBT character that comes along.
Closely related and as annoying are the sexcapade stories where our hero bangs anything (s)he is attracted to. Way to keep those stereotypes alive. Never mind the extraterrestrial STDs or jealous partners theses characters should face.
Everyone in these stories are abso-fucking-lutely fine with having orgies at the drop of the hat. Anyone who isn’t is either a villain or not attractive. Let’s not get into how absurd all this is when it takes place in the middle of a intergalactic war or Armageddon.
The popularity of True Blood and Twilight gave rise to countless stories about some poor gay slob who for reasons only known to the authors of these craptastic wank fests is revealed to be the soul mate of said monsters. He then becomes an uber hottie after the change.
Fuck no. A nerdy gay dude makes a nerdy monster. You don’t get a cool upgrade just ’cause you’re banging Dracula. The same goes for stories where the gay geek finds some alien technology or experimental super serum and then transforms into a porn star super hero and bangs everyone in sight. Stop it.
Super heroes stories have been coded as queer for decades because having to keep a secret identity or lose everything you value has a direct parallel to being in the closet. Also in most origin stories their powers develop or mature when they enter puberty. A gain a parallel with becoming aware of your sexual and gender identity.
So if you write about a LGBT super hero, then you damn well explore this subtext. I swear if I read another story that goes “Hi I’m a gay mutant and it’s like so hard, OMG.” I’m going to scream.
The number one cliche I cant stand is medieval sword and sorcery stories where no one makes light of the fact the protagonist is LGBT. Yes because heaven forbid they have to earn the respect of their elders and peers first or, gasp, never and have to live outside the safety of the community. We can’t have that now, they might chip a nail.
And a final note: unless it’s satirical or subverted in some way please give the boy/girl who is the chosen one to stop the ultimate evil a rest. Yes I know it’s part of the mono myth but step it up a notch and wow us.