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So I've been reading in this forum a lot as the idea of creating a race-discussion forum has been being batted around and gotten a sense of the thoughtfulness and care here. And I realize I'm committing the cardinal sins of both not becoming an involved member of a forum before asking a question and of asking an "would this be appropriate" kind of question. But I'm editing my novel trying to get it ready for query, and I'm absolutely twitching over my red pen about this. I thought people here might have some good perspective that I can't see on my own.
My question is this--is it automatically disingenuous for a straight writer to include a gay character on the periphery of the narrative?
In this novel, the main character's brother is gay. I've been writing little spinoff stories of this family for years, and in my mind, this character has always been gay. He's not "the gay best friend" in a romance story, he's not Jack from Will & Grace, and he's not there to make a big narrative point. He's out and has been out for years. In the story, he's a wise guiding force, and is a bit of a foil to the MC's other older brother, who is much younger and more immature.
It would be very easy to make him straight, and I could see an editor asking me to do it anyway. He has a partner and a child, and I could make his partner a wife and the child biological with less than an hour of edits. That he's gay is utterly inconsequential to the story that ended up being this novel, but to me, that's just who the character is.
I don't feel it's some risqué thing that needs to be edited out, far from it. People have different sexual orientations in the real world and as far as I'm concerned, this should be reflected in the fictional one. What I'm really sweating bullets over is not wanting to be seen as a straight writer who has a gay character because it's trendy, or edgy, or is otherwise disingenuous. Is it fair of me to write a gay character on the edge of the novel, or am I just doing exactly what people have done with non-majority characters for years--giving them the bit parts?
I've been hemming and hawing for weeks, so I thank you in advance for your thoughts.
My question is this--is it automatically disingenuous for a straight writer to include a gay character on the periphery of the narrative?
In this novel, the main character's brother is gay. I've been writing little spinoff stories of this family for years, and in my mind, this character has always been gay. He's not "the gay best friend" in a romance story, he's not Jack from Will & Grace, and he's not there to make a big narrative point. He's out and has been out for years. In the story, he's a wise guiding force, and is a bit of a foil to the MC's other older brother, who is much younger and more immature.
It would be very easy to make him straight, and I could see an editor asking me to do it anyway. He has a partner and a child, and I could make his partner a wife and the child biological with less than an hour of edits. That he's gay is utterly inconsequential to the story that ended up being this novel, but to me, that's just who the character is.
I don't feel it's some risqué thing that needs to be edited out, far from it. People have different sexual orientations in the real world and as far as I'm concerned, this should be reflected in the fictional one. What I'm really sweating bullets over is not wanting to be seen as a straight writer who has a gay character because it's trendy, or edgy, or is otherwise disingenuous. Is it fair of me to write a gay character on the edge of the novel, or am I just doing exactly what people have done with non-majority characters for years--giving them the bit parts?
I've been hemming and hawing for weeks, so I thank you in advance for your thoughts.
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