Avoiding stereotypes, maintaining credibility

[Kosson]

I have two lesbian characters who drive around in a mini-pickup truck. Is that too stereotypical, or should they drive around in something the reader doesn’t expect like a Dodge Dart or a Toyota Camry?

[Polenth]

If your characters are walking stereotypes, changing their car isn't going to change that. If your characters aren't walking stereotypes, no one's likely to care about what they're driving.

[Icedevimon]

And even if they are walking stereotypes, well, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason--some people do fit them. There's really nothing wrong with it, as long as you still give them something to make them their own character.

Bottom line: if that's what they'd drive as characters, then leave it.

I came under this type of scrutiny in class when I wrote the first chapter of Morning Star. My MC's favorite color is purple, and he has a pair of pajamas that are purple with little cats printed on them. Some people complained that it was cliche, and stereotyped him as gay, but that's just who he is. Stay true to your characters :3

[Kitty Pryde]

Lesbians don't drive mini pickups, they drive FULL SIZE pickups! :D

But seriously, if YOUR lesbians drive a truck, then they drive a truck. Plenty of lesbians and plenty of straight women drive trucks. Be true to the character, just don't make the character a stereotype at heart.

[greatfish]

I have two lesbian characters who drive around in a mini-pickup truck. Is that too stereotypical, or should they drive around in something the reader doesn’t expect like a Dodge Dart or a Toyota Camry?


Sometimes you can be too descriptive. For example, a Dodge Dart? I think I'd have to google that before I knew what they were driving. If you're going to make your reader google something, it better be a major part of the story. If it's a minor detail, only meant to be mentioned in passing, then make sure it does just that, passes. If you make the reader dwell too much on insignificant details, you'll wear them out. Unless your story is about that Dodge Dart that saved the MC's life and represents the great universal truths of our time, you should probably just go with pickup truck.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I learned to drive in a Dodge Dart, though I've the wrong plumbing arrangement to be a lesbian.

Characters drive what they drive for the reasons they drive it. So long as it makes sense for them to drive it, have them drive it.

[JulieHowe]

I don't recall much legroom in the later Dodge Darts (1963 to 1976), which were designed to be economy vehicles, and as a result, looked and felt like sardine cans. The earliest Darts (manufactured before 1963) are now considered to be classic cars by some afficionados.

http://foundationpc.com/

[Kate Thornton]

Dodge Darts! Some of my favorite memories are of a drive-in movie in a friend's mom's Dodge Dart back in 1964. Not what you think - it was too small for that, but what a feeling of independence we had driving a car! It was white with a red interior. Neither of us were lesbian, but I now drive a mini-truck (and a Volvo sedan.)

Descriptors are important in a story - they add that versimilitude necessary for the reader to connect and see the world you have built. But too much detail can get in the way of the main point, which is telling the story. Too little, and the reader must fill in the background, something not everyone is capable of or willing to do and that's your job as a writer anyway.

And stereotypes - well, if your characters are well-developed (no double entendre intended!) then as long as they themselves do not become caricatures, a little bit is probably okay. If the car is a main part of their existence in the story, then it's important.

PS Don't know if you're writing mystery, but the trunk of a Dart is pretty small for a body unless you fold 'em up and run the risk of rigor in fetal position. A mini truck (with a tarp) can hold half a dozen...

[Psybolt]

PS Don't know if you're writing mystery, but the trunk of a Dart is pretty small for a body unless you fold 'em up and run the risk of rigor in fetal position. A mini truck (with a tarp) can hold half a dozen...

Hm

???

Mystery writer, I hope.....

;)

[Mara]

I'm a lesbian and happen to drive a pickup truck, so I guess it's okay. :)

Seriously, I don't think anyone would object to that as being too stereotypical at all.

[Jamesaritchie]

Instead of trying to avoid stereotypes, write about real people. Put what they do and how they do it down on the page. If you capture realism, it won't matter what they drive. They'll be driving the car or truck they actually drive, and if this happens to be stereotypical, it still won't matter, and readers won't even notice.

It's only when writers try to write about people they don't know at all that true stereotypes arise.

[JoeVenito]

As a lot of people have mentioned, real people tend to fall into stereotypes. That's why we have the stereotype in the first place. What you really want to avoid is having a character be a stereotype for the sake of simplicity. I'm not familiar with the stereotype of lesbians driving pickup trucks, I thought all they did was cut their hair short, wear flannel, and be every woman that won't sleep with me. But, if you have to use the pick up line bit, make sure there's a reason that you're particular character drives it. It can even be for stereotypical reasons - if someone drives a pick-up truck because it makes them feel empowered then so be it, as long as you show why they otherwise feel weak.