lesbian relationship in ya?

Lenny Jennison · Feb 1, 2012

I think my latest WIP is going to be in the YA area being that this is a superhero work.

My question is: Is it inappropriate for me to have a lesbian relationship in this genre?

I plan on making this more of a longing between characters but I am not sure if this out of bounds for this genre. It has been a LONG time since i read a book in this genre on a regular basis. The last one I read did not have this in it. I was wondering if the genre has adapted to modern times.

thebloodfiend · Feb 1, 2012

Short Answer: No.

Long answer: Read [URL="http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6909070&postcount=13"]this, [/URL]this and this.

And check out some YA books. Read in the genre you want to write. Sister Mischief is a recent YA novel about old school rap and a girl who likes girls.

thothguard51 · Feb 1, 2012

As with any topic, if you don't know enough about it or you are only using it gratuitously, then it can be a problem...

maybegenius · Feb 1, 2012

Malinda Lo has great stats about LGBT YA novels on her website/blog, including this post that features recent stats for LGBT YA. Is it being published? Yes. Is it being published extensively? Not yet. But the numbers are slowly climbing.

But as has been mentioned, it is really, really, really important to read recent releases from the genre/category you want to write. Don't assume that you can write a suitable YA novel for today's market if you haven't read any of the new releases from the last 2-5 years. Yes, YA adapts to modern times. It has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade.

Kitty Pryde · Feb 1, 2012

Gay YA superheroes? Try Hero by Perry Moore. You will find far more LGBT YA fiction than you will superhero YA fiction, actually.

Deleted member 42 · Feb 1, 2012

If anything, Malinda Lo underestimates queer relationships in the last twenty years.

missesdash · Feb 1, 2012

Is it inappropriate for me to have a lesbian relationship in this genre?

I plan on making this more of a longing between characters but I am not sure if this out of bounds for this genre. It has been a LONG time since i read a book in this genre on a regular basis. The last one I read did not have this in it. I was wondering if the genre has adapted to modern times.

I have nothing to add but an animated smiley:

:e2thud:

Lenny Jennison · Feb 1, 2012

Let me describe the situation:

I want my main antagonist to fall for one of the mc's. I want her to be blinded by the emotional draw to the female in question. I do not plan on making this a torrid affair between the ladies. I want to show the real world struggle or want and rejection. As with this whole title, nothing is either black or white. The levels of grey are what makes this story one to remember.

No one is good or evil. We have different drives that push us to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.

This relationship will be very much the same way. Two people who find themselves compelled to each other, yet know they can not be together for many reasons. The connection shared by both women will make the story more muddled than an average super hero story. I want each character to have their own internal struggle as well as the adjustment of the new super powers.

This would really be considered a coming of age in a modern world story. Super power thrown in more color

missesdash · Feb 1, 2012

You say "women." If these aren't teenagers, it's probably not YA anyway. So you can go lesbian crazy.

Kitty Pryde · Feb 1, 2012

missesdash said:
you can go lesbian crazy.

Lenny Jennison · Feb 1, 2012

The concept of super heroes, doesn't make this a YA story?

missesdash · Feb 1, 2012

Kitty Pryde said:

I'm totally making this a thing.

lesbian
crazy

missesdash · Feb 1, 2012

Lenny Jennison said:
The concept of super heroes, doesn't make this a YA story?

You should read the " What Constitutes YA Fiction?" sticky. Like asap.
Teenage protagonist is all but mandatory.

Superheroes aren't strictly YA or Adult anymore than robots or vampires.

thebloodfiend · Feb 1, 2012

Y'all are crazy, but those emotes are cool.

Lenny Jennison said:
The concept of super heroes, doesn't make this a YA story?

No.

missesdash said:
You say "women." If these aren't teenagers, it's probably not YA anyway. So you can go lesbian crazy.

Kitty Pryde · Feb 1, 2012

Lenny Jennison said:
The concept of super heroes, doesn't make this a YA story?

There are actually shockingly few YA superhero novels. I can only think of two (I'm not counting I Am Number Four because it sucks big time). There are a handful of MG superhero books (kids books). But I can think of a lot of adult fantasy superhero novels.

Lenny Jennison · Feb 1, 2012

Kitty Pryde said:
There are actually shockingly few YA superhero novels.

From your chat name, I can take it, you are an authority on the subject

My favorite comic book hero is Colossus

Kitty Pryde · Feb 1, 2012

missesdash said:
I'm totally making this a thing.

lesbian

crazy

*tried to go lesbian crazy, but discovered she was already there*

KateSmash · Feb 2, 2012

1) YA is a market and not a genre. YA has all genres (except, perhaps, erotica) written with teenagers in mind.

2) Yes, there are lesbians in YA. They can even have sex, kill someone, and do drugs. It's more about how things are done than what is done.

3) Read more YA. Make sure it's recent (published in the last 5 years). It's really the only way to take the pulse of the market and figure out where the boundaries are. And those boundaries are much broader than most folk think.

4) Yay lesbians. Yay superheroes. I seriously want more of both in my fiction.

randi.lee · Feb 2, 2012

I don't find an issue with it but then again my opinion is only %.00000000000000001 of the YA fandom.

Sheryl Nantus · Feb 2, 2012

Lenny Jennison said:
The concept of super heroes, doesn't make this a YA story?

Nope.

*points down*

My third book in the "Blaze of Glory" trilogy comes out in October. Definitely *not* YA but definitely superhero.

You might want to do more research into this area.

Niiicola · Feb 2, 2012

I don't have much to add to this, but I'm still giggling about lesbian crazy, particularly the two smileys kissing with the eyebrow-waggling onlooker. You guys are funny.

Edit: Oh wait, I do have something to add. Lenny, just be careful with this because it could come off as smarmy if the lesbian stuff is more male fantasy-ish than realistic.

maybegenius · Feb 2, 2012

Niiicola said:
Edit: Oh wait, I do have something to add. Lenny, just be careful with this because it could come off as smarmy if the lesbian stuff is more male fantasy-ish than realistic.

Yeessssss. Look, I'm not going to be a jerkass and say that men can't write female characters, because that's a ridiculous thing to say, just like saying women can't write male characters. Many men have written believable and complex female characters (Philip Pullman's Lyra leaps immediately to mind).

HOWEVER, I have had the unpleasant experience of reading more than one man trying to tackle the teenage girl experience (and even the teenage bisexual/lesbian experience), and it was... of concern to me. There are some very specific nuances to growing up a teenage girl, and specific experiences to figuring out one's sexuality. Sometimes male writers seem to have this fantasy about what it's like and they play it out in an unrealistic and frankly offensive way. It comes off very male gaze-y. You mentioned that you're not planning on making the book "torrid," but there doesn't need to be sexytime involved for it to read as incongruent with the female/lesbian experience.

I AM NOT SAYING that you shouldn't do it. Just that you must be very, very aware of how you're portraying your characters. Having women and women who are also lesbians beta read for you would probably be a good idea. Also, as the others have said, superheroes do not a YA novel make. YA novels are written from the teenage experience.

Lenny Jennison · Feb 2, 2012

Yet again, a lot of great advice.

Thank you all for the answer to the YA audience. I want to write this book as I think it should be written, then allow who ever to claim the genre for it.

The Lesbian experience is not one that is going to be written in a male perspective.

The true relationship or interest will be deconstructed like any romance. There will be a longing, and unanswerable longing and quest to understand these feelings. I know what y'all mean about the male gaze, there will be nothing that I deem "exciting" for a male who is looking for a cheap thrill.

I want to approach this relationship from a truly "love" aspect. This woman envies the strength of the heroin and longs to be in her presence. Nothing sexual just an admiration at first. As the story continues she longs for the touch and wisdom the other person has to offer.

I do not claim to be an expert on teen female emotions or thoughts. I just want to portray this in a manner that a female teen could look at and say, "i can see that happening."

In this book, i plan on tackling a lot of different areas for each character. I want each character to be as conflicted as a normal person is on a daily basis.

I want these characters to not only have to deal with the arrival of new super powers, but also have to deal with the struggles of a normal life, in and out of the costume.

Sage · Feb 2, 2012

Kitty Pryde said:
You will find far more LGBT YA fiction than you will superhero YA fiction, actually.

This is true. For some reason, superheroes are a hard sell.

*speaks from experience*

Cyia · Feb 2, 2012

I would think books like Shatter Me would open the market for more superheroes (when your pitch includes "X-Men", how can it not).

And yes, Lesbians are fine for YA. *points to sig-line* One of the secondary relationships in Premeditated (there really isn't a primary one, come to think of it) is a Lesbian pairing.

lesbian relationship in ya?

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Deleted member 42

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