Malinda Lo
Blog
Jun 10, 2010
Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes in YA Fiction, Part 4: Secondary characters and gay jokes
Today, in part 4 of my series on avoiding LGBTQ stereotypes in YA fiction, I’m blogging about secondary characters and gay jokes. Here are the other posts in this series:
Part 1: Major LGBTQ stereotypes
Part 2: Gender
Part 3: Words to watch out for
Part 4: Secondary characters and gay jokes
Part 5: Resources
Be sure to check out the introduction to the first post if you haven’t read it yet.
Secondary Characters
In YA fiction today I often encounter secondary characters who are LGBTQ. This is a great development; it means that LGBTQ people are increasingly part of the story. Nina LaCour’s hold still has a particularly awesome secondary queer character in it.
However, I also find the most stereotyping in secondary characters. I think this is because a secondary character, whether he’s a supporting character or simply a walk-on one, has less space on the page than a main character. The author has fewer words to describe these characters, and therefore sometimes relies on loaded words (like the ones I listed yesterday) to hint that the character is queer. Using those words, especially ones related to gender, can result in stereotyping.
I think that including LGBTQ characters as supporting or walk-on characters can create a more realistic world for the main characters, and I definitely support including them. So how do you write a non-stereotypical LGBTQ supporting character? Here are some tips:
- Ask yourself if this secondary character needs to be identified as LGBTQ. Is it truly important to the story? If not, you don’t need to identify them as queer. Just remember that their queer identity will inform their actions and beliefs, and use that to develop the character.
- If their sexual orientation is important to the story, watch out for loaded words (especially relating to gender) when describing the character. It’s often better to just have the character identify him or herself as queer, or have it come up in conversation, rather than hinting about their queerness through description.
- Read books that include well-drawn secondary LGBTQ characters and study how the writers do it. I’ve blogged a bit about that here.
It’s easy to find lists of books featuring main characters who are queer, but secondary characters don’t seem to make it onto those lists. Since so many YA novels do include secondary LGBTQ characters, I think it’s important to highlight novels that do this well. Here are some that I recommend:
- Dairy Queen, The Off Season, Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (realistic) — major secondary character is a lesbian
- The Demon’s Lexicon, The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan (urban fantasy) — supporting characters are queer
- The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray (historical fantasy) — major secondary character is a lesbian
- Hold Still by Nina LaCour (realistic) — major secondary character is queer
- The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black (urban fantasy) — supporting characters are LGBT
- The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare (urban fantasy) — supporting characters are LGBT
- Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer (realistic) — supporting character is a lesbian
- Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (mystery, ghost story) — supporting/walk-on LGBT characters
- Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron (realistic) — several supporting/walk-on LGBT characters
Gay Jokes
Sometimes when I’m reading a YA novel that has nothing to do with LGBTQ issues and doesn’t even have any queer characters, I run into a gay joke. This occurs when a character describes someone as acting “gay,” (as in acting like a loser) or by describing someone as “such a fairy.”
I don’t believe that offensive jokes should never be used; I think that in some cases they can be necessary. For example, in John Green and David Levithan’s Will Grayson, Will Grayson, one of the main characters begins the novel in a place of deep self-loathing. He says a number of extremely homophobic things. I understood, however, that it was part of his own self-hatred and was necessary for the story. I also knew that it was written by John Green and David Levithan, two writers I respect; they know what they’re doing, and I trust them to tell a story authentically.
However, it was so disturbing to me that I must admit I could not continue reading. I’m probably not like most readers in this area. I’ve spent so many years covering the representation of LGBTQ people in the media in my previous job that I now have a short tolerance for homophobia, whether or not it’s used for a legitimate purpose. Just remember that when you write things that are so charged, someone will react negatively to it.
I’m not saying that you should avoid all potentially offensive statements for fear of driving away readers. I’m just saying that as a writer, you need to think consciously about your usage of loaded words and gay jokes. Do they really need to be in the book? Why? Be aware of what you’re writing.
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Do you have recommendations for YA novels with great secondary queer characters? Questions? Please comment! As always, comments will be moderated, and homophobia is not tolerated on my website.
You absolutely should finish “Will Grayson, Will Grayson”. It gets a lot less depressing and disturbing as it goes along. The ending was too crazy for me, but it was still a really good book.
Thank you for introducing me to Sarah Waters, by the way. I just read “Fingersmith”, and it’s one of the best books I’ve read in ages.
I have no books to add to the list, but I just wanted to say that when it was revealed in Dairyqueen that ______ (spoiler free!) was gay my mind imploded. It was such an awesome development, and made all the weird little clues the author dropped along the way all make sense. And that is the best kind of writing, really.
I also want to say that one of the things I enjoyed the most with Ash was that there was no value placed in sexuality – both was equally normal, which was amazing to read, especially in a fairytale!
These are wonderful posts. Well done!
I found that slightly ‘oh dear’ about ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ too – it made me dislike the character, at first, but it genuinely felt like the character as opposed to the author’s own views sneaking in, which is often the case elsewhere.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you enjoyed Fingersmith! One of my favorites.
Thanks, Kaia!
And I loved Dairy Queen. It’s really an awesome book.
Thanks, Natalie!
Thanks for your comment, Claire. I agree, you could tell right away it was the character’s POV.
I’m not sure about the not-saying. In my experience, if you don’t actively say your characters are part of a minority race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, etc., it is assumed they are not. (And sometimes even if you do say they are — I have received emails from readers wondering why I’d describe a character as having “black skin” and asking if I meant “black hair.) I have had black characters assumed to be white and gay characters assumed to be straight. The latter happened in a review castigating my book for being both homophobic and ignorant of the homosexual ramifications of my worldbuilding.
Can’t win, it seems.
Yeah, sometimes nobody gets it. This is a bummer. I’m sorry about that reviewer. (I missed the part about Giovanni being black — I thought he was Italian — but I did have fun guessing who was gay in RAMPANT. I mean, I figured: It’s a world of virginal female unicorn hunters. Somebody’s gonna be a lesbian! I’m always on the lookout for hidden lesbians, though.)
I guess I think that in some cases, like with minor characters and walk-ons particularly, there’s usually no reason to identify them as gay. This is just my opinion, but I’ve encountered enough gay walk-ons identified in such stereotypical ways that I’d rather not have them identified at all.
I absolutely loved the way Cassandra Clare presented her two characters and the obstacles to their relationship. I can’t wait to see my favorite supporting character again in CA!!
I have also read two series where the gay best friend was so cliche, the characters were interchangeable! [insert eye roll here]
A lot of the books you mentioned are on my TBR pile (along with Ash), but there are some new ones I will add!
Thanks again!
My novel’s protagonist is a queer teenaged girl, and there is a secondary character who is trans (FTM), but I don’t get into much detail about him. It’s told in first person, so before my protagonist learns that Alex identifies as a boy, she refers to him as her, and then switches pronouns in the narrative after finding out how he identifies. I do worry a bit about too much tokenism with this, but it was important to me to have that representation in my book.
Thanks so much for what turned out to be a very timely set of posts for me. I am writing a women’s fiction with romantic elements and have a prominent gay character–he and his sister are my lead character’s best friends since high school. I was very concerned not to make him the typical flamboyant gay man often depicted in this type of fiction and/or chicklit. Thanks for giving me a context for further developing him. Laura
The lesbian relationship in the Gemma Doyle trilogy completely took me by suprise, but it explained the one character’s devotion to saving the other (when both characters were not very loyal in the first place).
Great list of books.
Thank you for this series of posts. I learned a great deal. My favorite LGBTQ character is George in The Object of My Affection. I read it in high school and it was the first time I encountered a principal character who was dynamic, meaningful, sympathetic, and gay. I know it’s quite an old fashioned portrayal now, but it was a very powerful moment for me as a reader.
I adore Sarah Waters. “The Night Watch” is awesome. It’s maybe a better read for YA than “The Fingersmith,” what with the porn library and all.