YO WRITING TIPS MAN

writing queer characters

-don't make them a stereotype. Queerness is different for everyone. Sure there will be feminine gay men but not every gay man is feminine.

-along with that, don't make their queerness their only personality trait. In society today some queer people only do that so people don't assume they were "turned straight" even then we have personalities. Someone may wear a pride pin and colorful clothing but they have hobbies and interests. They may come off as rude or apathetic. They may be energetic.

-don't kill off all of your queer characters. A common thing I see in fiction is the only confirmed queer character to be killed off in the end. I saw this with people waiting for Season 4 Vol. 2 of Stranger Things. A lot of people thought they were gonna kill Robin because she is the only confirmed lesbian and writers make that happen in a lot of media. Avoid doing that.

-not every queer person comes to terms with their identity easily. There are characters who are in denial for along time but realize it later on. I'll use my lesbianism as an example. Society always told me that my life had to revolve around men. When I had no attraction to them I ignored it. I was in a stage of denial. I went back and forth between bisexual and aroace for a long time. Of course, this isn't every queer person. Our experiences are different.

-don't avoid saying their identity. Don't avoid the word gay, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, lesbian, aroace, aromantic, asexual, etc. Those words are not slurs. You can say "she was a lesbian." "they were gay" "he was aroace" etc.

-since I mentioned Asexuality and Aromanticism, not every asexual person is "heartless" not every aromantic person is as sexual as you may think. Aroace people included.

-give more human Nonbinary rep. We lack human nonbinary characters.

-trans men aren't always feminine and trans women aren't always masculine. On that topic, femboy is problematic. There are many other ways you can refer to feminine guys.

-not every one uses she/her, he/him, or they/them. Don't be afraid to mix them up or use all of them. People also use xeno/neopronouns. Don't be afraid to use them. Seeing a character who uses xenopronouns will help get them more recognition. Also don't be ableist when it comes to these. Xenogenders were created by autistic people for autistic people. In a lot of cases, we don't understand/see our gender in the way allistic(non-autistic people) do. Even then i'm not sure if that is the best way to describe why xenogenders exist.

-don't make all your queer characters the same white person. Queer people of color are often overlooked. Especially trans black women have helped us gain our rights.

-show their "ups and downs". Queer people have a higher rate of self-hatred and mental illness. Disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, etc. are often very stigmatized. Queer people see the world differently due to experiences unique to themselves. Let's say you have a lesbian who grew up in a Christian household. They could have been afraid to con out or never came out to their family due to the way many Christians react to queer people. That can make them self-conscious of their identity. They could go through denial. It's different for everyone.