Surprise LGBT characters

[Inspector_Spinda]

I won't name specific comics, but a LOT of the comics I've been following for years have started having this issue (if it is an issue). So I've been following these comics since high school and all of a sudden (like in the last 1-2 years) multiple characters who's sexuality has never been relevant or hinted at before suddenly are LGBT. Romance was not previously significant to the comic at all and there were zero straight ships. Suddenly on page 200+ there's 3 LGBT ships. Is it wrong to really hate that? Maybe it's just I wasn't expecting anything like it to happen because that's not what the story appeared to be about. TBF 200 pages sometimes is not that deep into the story at all in webcomic terms. I really don't know how to feel because this something I've only recently started really getting annoyed by. I can stand it happening once, but three comics I like now have this happening. Some of the ships I actually don't mind too much, but more often than not it just feels weird an not needed.

Am I just being an ass or has anyone else felt like this?

edit: I'm no longer replying to this thread. Replies are coming in too fast. Thank you everyone for your awesome responses <3

[adrienclifton]

its u, fam

straight and cis is not the default
representation matters. yes, even in small comics
if gay characters makes the story less immersive, or feels "weird," imagine how the vast majority of (straight) fiction must be for everyone else

[Kiweevil]

I don't think your an ass for not expecting a literal genre change, regardless of sexual orientation. I don't like it when you've got a regular story with regular characters and a regular plot that exhausts itself to the point of only focusing on relationships. The Big Bang Theory had that issue.

But if your issue is only with LGBT springing up I'm a little confused. Not all gay/bi/etc. people are flamboyant or excessively tomboy-ish, so it's kinda hard to say there was no clue of them being gay and then suddenly they're gay. They were just always gay, they just weren't parading it around. For instance, I'm not straight but most people wouldn't guess that. I tell them and they go, "really? You don't look gay."

Also, lots of people are LGBT, they just don't admit to it because of societal reasons. But they usually confide in the acceptance of other LGBT people. So it's very common to see many gays, etc., within a social group. Where there's one gay, there's more lol.

[33rdCenturyCaveman]

Gonna assume this topic am posted in good faith. If "surprise LGBT character" am cheap way of pandering to LGBT segment, then yes, me not like that. But me not really mind if this happen as part of author's process, whether that process be creative process or self-discovery process. Artist change just like other people and long-running works have ability to capture that.

Anyway, me just wanted to say that it hard to top Gandalf in this category. Him so deep in closet, it took belated Word of God to get him out.

[Inspector_Spinda]

Well what I'm talking about isn't really closeted just then suddenly mentioning it/ being revealed to have a love interest all along. unless you're talking about the authors themselves which is totally fair.

[Inspector_Spinda]

no i didn't mean to say that isn't bad that there were not clues. i more when that there were no LGBT themes whatsoever for years and years and suddenly the three main characters are all LBGT. Or even, with one comic, suddenly deciding after 6 years of drawing that they're all LGBT and then going back and redrawing the pages so that early pages also included the ship which means it wasn't even planned at all. The ships are not always bad. Some of them are good! Some of them are meh, but when so many ships come on so suddenly, it feels so jarring. x'D i go into ship overload.

[Inspector_Spinda]

here's another way to explain it that doesn't touch on such a touchy subject. It's an old cartoon cliche that a male character will have a female counterpart. Sometimes it's even a sister or twin sister. I think this is the dumbest thing ever. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's bad. Sometimes the girl actually has a personality, sometimes she doesn't. I still think it's so dumb. Even when I grow to love the girl it's still the weirdest thing ever and I dislike the cliche.

[IdiotWithPencil]

I've experienced this too, it's so weird when you are reading a comic about saving the world from an eldritch abomination, and the plot just halts for like two month cause a character who was previously non romantic at best, suddenly fall in love with another character out of nowhere, be it gay or not it's a heel turn and I don't really care for it

its u, fam

straight and cis is not the defaultrepresentation matters. yes, even in small comicsif gay characters makes the story less immersive, or feels "weird," imagine how the vast majority of (straight) fiction must be for everyone else

While I do agree that that representation matters, I would appreciate it if the authors would set it up beforehand, instead of just turning around and saying "these two are now in love so kiss". I mean do you really not care if your representation is good?

[IndigoShirtProd]

It sounds like what your bothered by is the shoehorning in of LGBTQ+ themes almost unnecessarily. Like it sounds like these comics just decided to reveal these things about the characters and include these ships, not because it's story relevant, but because they knew they could draw in a more diverse audience. Like they wanted to capitalize and pander to LGBTQ+ readers and not make a story with fair representation.

I personally don't know how I'd react in that situation either. On the one hand, LGBTQ+ representation is a good and necessary thing. On the other had if the story could have moved on without mentioning it, it feels cheap and exploitative. I get your dilemma and I think it's fine if you feel annoyed by it as long as what your asking isn't "But did they have to be gay/ bi/trans/etc.?"

[Inspector_Spinda]

if the story was all about shipping or even if it was introduced a bit earlier in the story or if there were straight ships and then a new ship that was gay. something to give the idea that romance will be a plot point, it would be fine. I honestly don't know because i don't read romance intentionally so i have no baseline reaction to compare myself to. I'll probably start so i can talk about this in more depth.

[indagold]

I don't know many comics doing it but if anything comes to mind, legend of korra did it horribly, no build up and bam, the creators acted like they were doing a charity favor by showing two characters hold hands. If that's not queerbaiting, idk what is.

[Inspector_Spinda]

yes it's sort of like that. it being introduced late and suddenly, but not at the end of the comic. The comics are still continuing, but one of the comics is on hiatus so idk how the ships will continue, another just introduced three as LGBT within the last 6 months and the plot has not progressed much since. The third happened about 2 years ago and I dropped the comic because the whole literal plot changed into another plot (separate from the LGBT reveals) and sort has a rose quartz is pink diamond and also is steven situation where the reincarnated character is really upset but she's also whinny and so annoying. The ships there were actually probably the best out of the three comics i was reading, probably because the comic was written by lesbians, but the other parts of the story were tiresome.

[NickRowler]

Is this a review of my comic LOL

In all seriousness. When you read a series and suddenly two friends, a boy and girl, start being more romantic, like do you find that weird? Maybe some people like the romance to develop a little slower. And even then, if there is no romance, won't you assume everyone is asexual? I don't really understand why straight is the default.

[IdiotWithPencil]

I don't really understand why straight is the default.

I don't get this, is it that someone can't point out that a gay relationship feels phoned in?
can't people question why a character who gave 0 sigs of being romantic, all of a sudden just got into a relationship out of nowhere, be it gay or otherwise?

it's not that straight is the default, it's that it feels out of place and frankly jarring when you are reading about one thing and the story goes into a 90° tangent about another thing. Like a series about soccer out of nowhere starts showing basketball halfway into the world cup finals.

Edit: I'm just saying SET-UP you want a romantic thing with two characters? make a romantic set up, put them on a date, or at the end of the arc or in the middle of two arcs, don't just place the romance, gay or otherwise, in the middle of the freaking arc and go on a 3 year tangent while the BBEG is plotting to dominate the world

[Inspector_Spinda]

thing is that's not the situation in any of the comics im talking about. in the first the comic, 3 sets of character were revealed to be in gay relationships suddenly, but they were implied to have been in the relationship all along though it was never even slightly shown. i believe it was unplanned as shortly afterwards the entire plot of the comic was retconned. this is the least bad case and when i take some time to clear my mental slate i may return to the comic.

second comic has no build up and suddenly a character who hates another has a wet dream? idk about this one because the storytelling around the romance is really vague and confusing. it's a very artsy style comic. The other ship is also between characters who hate each other but they apparently used to like each other. no other info really given, but it feels sort of dumb and whatever. the comic hasn't developed it further yet so it's hard to say how relevant it will be.

third comic had gone on the longest without introducing LGBT. only one romance which was straight and abusive emotionally. not even really a romance more like a side side plot which was mentioned 2-3 times and we never even saw one of them until recently. i actually forgot he was ever abusive because it was mentioned so little. anyways they've since split and one is in a LGBT romance and the other mentions he may be LGBT to another character also recently revealed to be LGBT.

I'm not really against any of these aside from the second which i hate hate hate. but im just getting tired of it happening to all the comics ive followed for years.

[NickRowler]

I'm bisexual, I don't find it weird if a guy dates girls then switches over to guys. To me, that's just how I like it and I am OK when it happens in a story.

[NickRowler]

Dude, no one is forcing you to read these comics. I mean, if you don't like the new direction, just stop following it. It sounds like sloppy writing, not really a LGBT issue. Who cars if someone is LGBT, we exist.

[BobbyjoeX]

they meant Genre Switching... the argument is that it goes from say, a murder mystery horror and then does a 180 and turns into a romantic comedy

[Inspector_Spinda]

that's not what im saying at all. im just trying to understand my own feelings because i dont hate these comics. ive followed them for years for a reason. not against LGBT ppl existing. may be sloppy writing but it's the exact same issue in three comics ive been read which are also ALL the comics i was read until recently x'D

[Inspector_Spinda]

too soon to say if it's as bad has genre switching. more like if it's a police show where all the detective protagonists were beaten as children. yes abused people exist, but that would be sort of weird in a story. especially if it was introduced in season 15. i mean if that was the whole idea of the show i guess there were be a place for it. but if you mention it suddenly in season 15, it sounds dumb.