Somewhere situated between Easter Island and Papua New Guinea, perfectly pinned on a straight line between the Great Pyramid and the Nazca Lines lies the Isle of Dystropia, the place where every cliché and worn-out convention sticks out like rubble in the sand. Pawing through the debris, you'll find the trope that may just make or break your story. Each installment, we'll explore a different literary platitude, examining it for its various strengths and weaknesses. Set sail for Dystropia, where you might just learn something about your writing and yourself.
Okay, so most of society has moved past the “All Gays Are Pedophiles” trope and left behind the idea of homosexuality as something to be cured, although we’re still waiting for some of the world to catch up. Yet, gays in fiction still often get a bizarre treatment – they’re frequently treated as novelties.
This is where the Sassy Gay Friend, or Pet Homosexual, emerges. Seemingly planted into a purely straight universe so the author can appear more diverse, the Pet is paraded around much like a court jester, complete with cheap laughs and behavioral oddities that are easily lampshaded – “Oh, that’s just Sean being his little ol’ gay self!”
Not there’s anything wrong with that… Is there? Sometimes gay people are flamboyant, comical, flippant, superficial and awkward, so portraying them as such isn’t entirely misrepresentation. But then there are lots of people who act like that (including myself after a few cold ones) regardless of sexual preference. And therein lies the issue. When you treat your gay characters as props, gags, pets, or worse— one-dimensional personalities—you’re walking some seriously thin ice. Let’s look at how to avoid turning your gay characters into objects or plot devices.
When To Steer Clear
Ever been in a relationship that was a little one-sided? The kind where you’re treated like the insignificant other, while your partner again interrupts you tell you about how they like Greek yogurt or that reminds me, I got these shoes on clearance or yeah, I totally know that feeling of not being listened to, hold on, someone’s retweeting me, sorry, gotta take this call?
Misplacement of sassy gay characters definitely comes across this way. The young, urban socialite needs someone to vent her romantic frustrations to and talk about her period with – let’s make it her gay best friend! Besides (unintentionally) implicating that women cannot have significant relationships with the opposite sex without some kind of sexual tension, this so-called “fag hag” scenario often lends little character development to the poor guy.
What this means is he regularly lacks his own romantic tirades, yet never seems bothered by it. Oh, he’ll talk about sex in enough graphic detail to make E. L. James blush, with the same candid tone you would use to describe lettuce. But getting some action? Ha. You’ll be lucky if you even see the Pet have a romantic interest, unless it’s offscreen. Instead, he’s just flush in the background, content in his isolation until he’s pulled forward to tell a joke or give some cheeky advice. “You go, girl!”
Where To Set Your Sights
Let’s look at other ways to handle this situation. You could always give your gay friend more of a front row, even *gasp!* as the main character. As rare as that is, giving your characters a better role than supporting the protagonist is kind of a no-brainer. Look at Patrick in The Perks of Being A Wallflower — he was more than just a conversation piece and his homosexuality was second to his character development.
Ask yourself why you made your character gay in the first place – unlike in the real world, this was a conscious choice for you. If you’re going to be progressive enough to include gay characters in your story, you might as well be bold enough to give those character more to do than hanging out in coffee shops wearing chic sweaters saying things like, “Girl, where did you get those shoes?” Give them relationships, give them their own spotlight, give them some humanity. Realize there’s more to being a gay man than having a lisp.
If you’re feeling even more bold, subvert this trope. In Kickass, total dweeb Dave can’t get Katie, the girl of his dreams, to pay attention to him, so when a rumor that he’s queer floats around, he dons this identity just to be near her. Katie is a selfish twat that only wants a Pet Homosexual. Then, to hilarious effect, she finds out Dave is as straight as Hugh Hefner, sics her gorilla boyfriend on him and then sexts him nudes just to torment him. Of course, I’m talking about the comic book, not the movie, which totally ruined this bizarre, yet hysterical twist. That’s Hollywood fer ya.
And it’s worth mentioning this amateur web series called “Sassy Gay Friend,” that reimagines popular literature as speckled with Pets. We see Othello, Adam and Eve, Romeo and Juliet and even The Giving Tree get reworked by the sage advice of the gay friend.
“Sister, you need a hobby or an orgasm, stat!”
Out In The Real World
Are gay friends merely mirrors to primp self-esteem and give single women the comfort food of companionship? Again, not that there’s anything wrong with that… So long as both parties are happy, who are we to judge if someone wants to act as a personal trainer for mall shopping marathons?
But you have to wonder if potentially unhealthy attitudes like this are the result of censorship and upheaval by the moral majority and are doing more harm than good. Yeah, there are a lot more gay characters in books and TV shows out there these days, but sadly, true progression isn’t something that happens overnight. Isn't it time we moved past these "straight-friendly" gay stereotypes?
About the author
Born in the desert, Troy Farah is a journalist that likes to burn things. His reporting has spanned VICE, Phoenix New Times, Flag Live and others, with fiction published in Sleeping in a Torn Quilt and Every Day Fiction. His website is troyfarah.com where he mostly dreams about the apocalypse.
