Happy TTT everyone! This weeks topic was a freebie, and since it also happens to fall on the first day of Pride Month, I figured it would be a great time to share my favorite non-hetero characters! I’ve been reading LGBTQ+ books for a long, long time, back when the rep wasn’t nearly as as good as it is today, and half of what was published was essentially tragedy-porn. Back then, if you wanted to write about being gay you usually had to do a “serious” book- there was no room for joy and celebration, or at least that is what publishers were pushing. The closest thing to gay comedy I could find back then was Dave Sedaris, who just happens to be gay, and doesn’t actually focus a lot of time on it in his works.
Of course there were exceptions! Lynn Flewelling, Mercedes Lackey, Ellen Kushner, Fanny Flagg, these women and a handful of other authors were creating stories where being gay wasn’t the main focus. Of course, these stories also had their problems, but at least their protagonists were allowed to live their lives without having to contend with a rash of prejudice and hate… mostly. If you were lucky enough to into the manga and manwa (Korean comics) scene, then you’d have an even broader selection of reading material- as Japan and Korean creators have been writing LGBTQ+ stories for a long time. Granted, most of them are not Own Voices novels, and a lot is to be said for how much fan service goes into these characters and their stories, but if you were patient and persistent, you could find some really lovely gems scattered throughout the thousands of scans and fan translations that existed (it took several years for Western publishers to quit straight-washing characters).
Sorry this is such a long intro! I’m usually already at the list by now! But, I figured this was deserving of a little backstory, especially because while it doesn’t feel like that long ago, we have made so many huge strides towards representation in literature! Graphic novels, comics, novellas, full-length books! You name it, and it’s available in some form or another! And the diversity of stories nearly matches the diversity of authors! Speaking as someone who had to live through a vast wasteland of nearly nothing, we are lucky to have the options we do! But enough of my babble! Let’s get to the good stuff!
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Continue reading “My Top Ten Favorite LGBTQ+ Heroes” →
