RDC blog #2

Characterisation: LGBTQI

Hello, St-renaissance here and I’m back with another little blog; this time to focus our characterisation efforts on building an LGBTQI character, based on the poll taken by my readers and fellow authors. This platform practically thrives on stories lead by LGBTQI characters and yet, there are a lot of characterisation errors and maladjustment that render the finalised product as a process of imitation and, in some cases, objectification.

I’m personally still learning and practicing in this area because I don’t want to seem superficial when it comes to constructing a dynamic character, despite being a part of the LGBTQI family.

Why have you chosen an LGBTQ character?

Before writing any story, of any genre, you must have a purpose and goal for the construction of your character. Will this character lead a moral compass? Will it simply share a story? Will it be presenting a case or example?

All those questions must be answered, even if vaguely, before building a character. Doing so will help you understand your character before you immediately give them a lead role which might feel a bit clunky if you’re not sure of where it will all go.

Few things to keep in mind: they’re not any different from heteroual or cis-gendered characters, they simply present a story that surrounds or includes their uality or gender. LGBTQI characters can lead stories and narratives where their uality and gender aren’t the main premise or theme. To make it more understandable, an LGBTQI character can go about their adventures and journeys without having to point out that they’re Biual, Lesbian, Transgender, or whatever, unless those details nourish their identity which develops their psychological and emotional range. If the character’s gender or orientation isn’t a significant point in the plot, then that side can be laid off and you can focus on other aspects of their character: opinions, beliefs, past, etc.

What if your story centers around a character’s uality or gender? Well then, we must analyse a few factors here: age, environment, education, social and political perception, and domestic/upbringing nature. Observing your character through different lenses can help you understand them on a more personal level, evidently humanising their actions and decisions. Let’s say, your character is a young Irish woman who happens to be a closeted homoual in the early 1960s. We’ll begin to study how the factors mentioned above helped shape this character’s past and present. You’ll need to understand the historical significance of LGBTQI rights on women and the Irish community, this sequence will lead to the influence of Church and Catholicism on social discrimination and how it pressed upon the character a feeling of isolation and depression.

Now, let’s take a closer look into each factor and how it plays into your character’s construction:

-Age: your character’s age definitely influences how uality and gender are treated as both practice and idea. Studies have shown that teenagers are more experimental with same- relationships and are often mistreated for it and thus remain in denial long into adulthood. Studies have also shown that there is a larger female percentage of teenagers who practice same- relationships but don’t identify as either Lesbian or Biual. Whereas male teenagers are less likely to either practice same- activities or label themselves as Homoual or Biual. Under certain genres such as Realism and Naturalism, ual behaviour is often encapsulated by the ordinary and commonplace; and -related activities do not represent an underlying meaning, it’s simply that conventionally encompasses the contrast of power: domination and submission.

On the other hand, children often misinterpret their ual identities and can either dismiss or contemplate it. Children seldom acquire a concrete concept of their identity or uality but have been prone to begin the cycle of questioning and investigation around the age of 11. Remember when writing a young character that children aren’t ignorant but often lack the foundational education that supplies them with the correct terms and suitable correlations of thought on self. An LGBTQI child can feel different than their peers but won’t often understand why, this can lead to a sense of misalignment within the child that seldom explains itself; children often won’t discover or label themselves so early.

-Environment: Your character’s gender identity and uality are commonly influenced and shaped by the settings and era in which the story takes place. Depending on the time period and historical era, the character’s perception of how welcoming society will evidently affect their confidence and safety; Ireland’s lo