Dec 2019
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Dec 2019
Dec 2019
Iris-Grimoire
Dec '19

Yeah, sometimes people just don't know how to ask a question, so it's hard to assume it's always someone complaining about LGBT+ content or trying to get answers before the story tells you. It can be possible they're actually asking how you make those decisions in character design, without really knowing that sometimes you just look at a character and say "yup, they're bi, it fits perfectly" or you reflect personal experiences you don't quite want to share. Creating OCs feels like a process from the outside when a lot of pantsing happens whenever you want to or not, I noticed from a few friends that don't have their own works asking me about mine.

kritsu60
Dec '19
1

Hmmm yeah. This character of mine- (no not the character in my profile pic) the person who asked why he is bi, is always in parties. He is very expressive in public and is not afraid to show himself. I suppose I could have answered him by saying, “he is just expressive,” on top of him loving to go to parties. But yeah, I figured it’s best to just say that it fits him. I just see him with a male and a female partner. His personality may be obnoxious. But he does have some good qualities.

AVXP
Dec '19

People think about things they care about. Creators create and voice their opinions on many things through their art. If it's devoid of all meaning then it's not art, it's craft. And so.....

1) They want to know why YOU are thinking about these types of characters, stories and moral lessons.
2) They want to know how closely your artistic interests match your real world viewpoint(s).
3) They want to know how seriously to take your work.
(If you answer that everything is random or meaningless..see my opening statement.)
4) They want to know what your influences were/are. Are you paying homage, copying a trend, etc....
5) They want to know how respectful your work is. (are you joking and making light or caricatures?)
6) People like to judge, rank and scale and, and compare and, and contrast. That's normal. Everything is relative.

I'd take it as a rare opportunity to share some insights to your work and you, as an artist (and person).
Celebrate all interest. (unless hiding behind/beyond your work is a thing- as I respect that too)

kritsu60
Dec '19
1

Very good points! I haven’t thought about that. Indeed, I do my best to be serious. May add a couple of weird/not so serious stuff but it’s part of comic mischief. Obviously won’t go into the fan service route because most of my stories don’t focus on that. Now, not trying to be secretive, but there are characters that I don’t want to reveal/share yet, because I am not working on their story yet, I don’t have enough details, or that I should wait till I finally am able to work on my characters story(s). I will share one or two of my characters I have in different stories (not taking place in the same world. I do have stories that take place in the same world where Jiang is.)

Jiang, is a kind person, very innocent. But as he joins the military, he has seen so much, and even had near-death experiences. No matter what he has been through, he tells himself to keep fighting to survive, as well as to gain courage to take risks even if it is really risky. And I have had times where I wanted to give up. So I wanted to put how I felt about giving up and how I gain courage in my book. I like themes that have the never give up/keep fighting for theme.

Merium- the story does involve people who are accused and need help. I have been accused in the past, and I have needed help but I was afraid to ask. So it is a story that shows characters who help each other out whatever it is (and again, not trying to be secretive. Just avoiding spoilers.)

I hope I answered some questions correctly because I went on about my stories and what themes I have and stuff. I don’t usually open up and talk about my characters too much (which I probably should for people to get to know them and understand.) Also, I can do my best to clarify something if needed.

droidmonkey1
Dec '19

I never understood why sexual orientation was so important to be known when it's has no relevance to the story.
or why in re-imagining and reboots suddenly a character is gay or part of a "community".
it's one thing to make more diverse or related characters but they put more emphasis on that, then the story itself.

frgmnt
Dec '19

I'm sorry but this view is... low-key homophobic imo.

Yes, their orientation might have no bearing on the story, but there's no harm in revealing it, and actually it's a good thing because in real life, people aren't gay for a reason, and it might be a small part of their lives - but does that mean they should never come out to people around them? Cause, you know, it's not important to their character arc? :joy:
It's similar with fiction. There absolutely should be more stories featuring LGBT+ people that aren't focused on them being LGBT+. Let characters be just casually gay/trans/etc. You know, just like in real life. :smirk: If merely knowing a character is not straight turns someone off from the story, then, uh, I don't know what to say.

mariusthered
Dec '19

it's just more of the political correctness crap thats just messing up how we tell stories and has killed comedy.
i use to worry about this sort of thing, and was once criticised for not having black characters in my comic (an old one not the one i'm working on now) i did try to do a character but things just were not right about it, so the character sucked.
these days i write for me, people can like it or lump it.

Iris-Grimoire
Dec '19
frgmnt

Also, for more selfish reasons, sometimes people want to make fan content of the characters and like sticking to canon, so if your character is LGBT+, they'd love to know that so they can be respectful. Character profiles take little time to make even if the things in them won't immediately be relevant in the comic, and are so helpful. Once again I get sad that with Tapas you need to publish an Extras version of the comic to post these in an easy to find place :c

kritsu60
Dec '19
droidmonkey1

I know... it’s just- ugh! Again, diversity is welcome. However, if someone says “this person is gay!” But shows no evidence... then, it’s irrelevant. That bothers me. Why did you say he/she is gay? For the sake of diversity? Please, that’s not how it works. I welcome gay characters, but there needs to be proof, and if there is a romantic element to the story, then it’s all fine and dandy.

kritsu60
Dec '19
frgmnt

Yeah I kinda viewed it like that too... :sweat_smile: but I didn’t want to say anything. This is not my only character who is bisexual. Or should I say he is not my only character that is gay. But this person who wanted to work with me on a story was kinda weirded out when I told him about my gay characters... yeeeah. Oh well. “Don’t like it? Move on,” is what I would say! :joy:

azzy-m
Dec '19

Not entirely the point of the topic, but I get a little confused when people ask why certain characters are LGBT+. It's kind of like the equivalent of asking an actual LGBT person why they're LGBT. So if anyone asks me why a character is LGBT (if because no one has straight up asked me that yet), then I'll just say "because they just are, just like how IRL LGBT people are born LGBT just because. Also because I myself am LGBT."

Wow, so many LGBT in one sentence.

kritsu60
Dec '19

Haha! That’s ok! But you are right! I totally agree. :joy: I was confused when the person asked why my character is Bi... uh... cause I felt that zing that he is. And I’ll keep it that way.

baasinsimple
Dec '19

It's part of development, kind of the point. For a lot of people when they create they have purpose to every little decision. Brandon Sanderson made Vin a woman for a reason in Mistborn, And when other writers add something like a romance or a different sexuality they do it to represent some sort of theme. If they asked "Why is this character Bi?" They're asking about your creative decision. It's as AVXP said. It's a basic question all readers will ask in their brain, you should be flattered by the question, they were at least on a subconscious level somewhat intrigued by your choice.

beta1042
Dec '19

I ask those questions about my characters when I develop them... I think knowing all sorts of things about my characters including how they compare to each other is part of what allows the character to fully form in my head. It's not enough for me to have only some generalized ideas, I need to know a lot of different aspects about my characters to know how to properly write their actions, reactions, dialogues, etc. Even information that is not important to the overall plot(ex: sexual orientation in a non-romance genre) can change how the person behaves in very subtle ways throughout the story.

HGohwell
Dec '19

I agree with the people saying it's important for you to ask these questions. For instance, when having an LGBT character, ask why you're creating them? Because you want diversity? Because you want to reflect real life populations? Is it just what you want to write? Because you want to get media attention for being so forward and progressive without having to do any work (not naming any large well known names ofc)? And in terms of strength, ask yourself why is this character stronger than others in universe? Does it make sense. Is there a reason beyond "they're the strongest because they're the main character). Same with personality traits, if they're dark and broody why are they dark and broody. All important things for you to question and know. And I don't think it's wrong for people to ask these sort of things either, if they're genuinely asking because they want to know more about the character rather that. It's normal when you see a character you love to want to know everything about them, why are they like that, what's their backstory, who hurt you my child? And it's your right as the creator to go those are spoilers or that's your secret. But, if they're asking in a rude way, just tell them it's none of their business and move on. Some people just want to pull others down under the mask of criticism and help.

Voyeur
Dec '19
kritsu60

"... And they were roommates!"
"Oh my god, they were roommates!"

As a creator who's gay, I'm of two minds when people say of fictional characters "prove it".

  1. Dumbledore's post-mortem gay reveal and endless queerbaiting was the real tragedy of Harry Potter
  2. But still, why don't we ever tell people to prove a character's straight?

I was a quietly gay kid and my goodness, that did not stop all my peers and family from picking up that this one might be a little, ahem, ~quaint~.

DokiDokiTsuna
Dec '19

I didn't think of @kritsu60's mention of "proof" in that way...I thought they meant just 'make it relevant and present in the story'. Like don't do an episode where the character randomly decides to admit they're gay and everyone goes 'ooh' and 'aah' for a little while and then it's never mentioned again.

Like, if you really want a reveal, have the other characters show up at their home and meet their spouse. Or have them go to a club and start a casual conversation about who they're attracted to. Make it actually fit into something that's happening in the story.

droidmonkey1
Dec '19
frgmnt

I'm sorry it's not.
what I tried to say is what you said later

A lot of shows use this as some sort of a "selling point". there are shows that the romantic life of the characters has no Bering on the stories beside in fan fiction. the more we treat LGBT+ relationship like how we treat heterosexual relationship the more it will become mainstream. like in star vs the forces of evil when during a concert you saw couples gay or not kissing in the background, that is what I'm saying they where like any other couples no one focused on them.
And for the recorded if you look through history when tv shows didn't put characters from "communities" in the spotlight but did show them and interact with them, they became standard and sometime got their own shows and started to change the world.
tl;dr
treat LGBT+ relationship as you do heterosexual ones in the media, and it will become a standard
I don't care if a character is straight or not especially if it has nothing to do with the story.

DokiDokiTsuna
Dec '19

This might be beside the point, but I'm wondering what historical TV shows you're referring to...? Because as I often claim, I watch a lot of old TV, and writers were doing "the black character" and even "the gay character" well into the 80s and 90s. Wanting characters of different ethnicities and backgrounds to be simply 'included' rather than highlighted is more of a recent phenomenon, if you ask me. =/

Also, I would be reluctant to hold up "getting their own shows" as a desirable result or end goal, because at that point it's fairly easy to end up with just 'TV segregation': y'know, where people can start de-legitimizing inclusion along the lines of "if you want to see black/lgtbq/female characters, just go watch that show (where most or ALL of the characters fit into that group), and leave our NORMAL shows alone!"

...That sounds like a step backwards to me.

droidmonkey1
Dec '19

All in the family was spun off to The Jeffersons they where the neighbors of the bunkers The Jeffersons had more the 200 episodes and an prominently feature a married interracial couple.
Perfect strangers spun off to family matters. in the second season of perfect strangers "Harriette Winslow the Elevator Operator at a newspaper editorial building in which Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous the main characters on Perfect Strangers also worked. Reginald Vel Johnson would make cameos on the show as Harriette's husband Carl Winslow, a Chicago Police Officer"
and in the 90's more gay background character appeared with one of the stereotypes of feminine behavior or they are good in interior designing but slowly after shows like will and grace, the way they were represented started to change slowly.