Gay fiction meaning

Is it the sexual orientation of the author? By writing stories with authentic LGBTQ+ characters and putting these characters at the centre of the story, writers are working to creating a far more accepting and inclusive world. But in the years since, gay fiction has splintered, with genres within sub-genres blurring the lines and making the categorization of "gay fiction" difficult at best.

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Or, better yet, does the truth matter when writing fiction? There are many gay characters who have prominently appeared in media other than those previously listed in this article, including in literature, teen fiction, yaoi stories, slash fiction, bara manga, pulp fiction, along with in animated series, comics, and other media.

Most historians agree that there is evidence of homosexual activity and same-sex love, whether such relationships were accepted or persecuted, in every documented culture. Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. There are many gay characters who have prominently appeared in media other than those previously listed in this article, including in literature, teen fiction, yaoi stories, slash fiction, bara manga, pulp fiction, along with in animated series, comics, and other media.

Is it a gay author specifically telling a story with gay characters? Some fiction explicitly explores what it means to be queer, how it feels for someone to come out or realise they identify as LGBTQ+ and the challenges many LGBTQ+ people still face today. To note, there have certainly been well-known female authors of gay male fiction, most prominently Patricia Nell Warren [ The Front Runner ] and Mary Renault [ The Persian Boy ].

The bigger question, of course, is, what gay fiction is. Ina Ugandan TV host asked trans activist Pepe Julian Onziema a now-infamous question: “Why are you gay?” The clip went viral, spawning internet fodder around. By writing stories with authentic LGBTQ+ characters and putting these characters at the centre of the story, writers are working to creating a far more accepting and inclusive world. When we speak specifically of gay literature, it usually refers to works written by gay authors or featuring gay characters and themes.

But the concept has broadened considerably over time, thanks to evolving social norms, critical theories like queer theory, and changing attitudes toward sexuality and gender.

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In general, however, fiction is termed gay when it incorporates a gay theme or gay character into its narrative. Thus, not all gay literature is written by gay authors; nor do all gay authors write gay fiction. This begs the question: Does the gender of a novelist matter? But the concept has broadened considerably over time, thanks to evolving social norms, critical theories like queer theory, and changing attitudes toward sexuality and gender.

With each, being gay was integral to both their identities and their art, helping to shape the stories they chose to tell and the characters they created. While a well-told story is just that, and the gender of the author typically shouldn't matter, does it, indeed, make a difference with gay fiction? Directly informed by their personal experiences, their novels delved into the very heart of what it means to be gay: how our familial relationships may change as a result of living authentically, how the disapproval from society can shape self-esteem, how the gay male's search for love and sex may differ from others, and how the AIDS epidemic altered the framework and communities many of us live within.

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For example, men have long used gender-neutral or female pseudonyms when writing romance, whereas women have used gender-neutral or male pseudonyms to write in "male" genres, such as detective or action. The sharing of such stories, both fictional and not, have helped countless others discover more about the gay community and their prospective place within it.

Or is there something else, not entirely tangible, that a gay author may bring to a story that a straight author cannot? Thus, not all gay literature is written by gay authors; nor do all gay authors write gay fiction. Many of the aforementioned authors wrote in the earlier days of gay liberation. Gay and bisexual adult men (Currin & Hubach, ) and trans people (Hobaica, Schofield, & Kwon, ) both retrospectively report a desire for more comprehensive and inclusive sex.

Authors, correspondingly, have done the same, using pseudonyms either to conceal identity or to write in genres not specifically associated with their own gender.

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When I think of gay literature, classic authors such as Larry Kramer, Armistead Maupin, Michael Cunningham, Stephen McCauley, Felice Picano, Paul Monette, and John Rechy, among others, come to mind. On February 15, Muhsin Hendricks, an openly gay imam, Islamic scholar and LGBT rights activist was shot and killed in Gqeberha, South Africa as he was leaving to. In general, however, fiction is termed gay when it incorporates a gay theme or gay character into its narrative.

This may have occurred due to an era's artistic conventions, or, in other cases, the need to assume different gender roles in order to comment on the broader human condition.

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They were simply writing what they knew and what they'd experienced, without necessarily thinking of their stories as falling within a specific genre. As long as there has been art, artists have inverted themselves in any number of gender permutations in order to both enlighten and educate. Some fiction explicitly explores what it means to be queer, how it feels for someone to come out or realise they identify as LGBTQ+ and the challenges many LGBTQ+ people still face today.

These gay authors, self-identifying and using literature as their platform, encapsulate what gay fiction has largely been known for, until now. When we speak specifically of gay literature, it usually refers to works written by gay authors or featuring gay characters and themes. Gay fiction, while certainly a genre, has most often been a means of self-expression, within which gay men have written tales of their search for identity and community.

Is it simply a matter of the lead character's sexual orientation?