Devin's Guide To Writing A Gay Or Lesbian Character

Maybe your like

I am a Roleplayer (and sometimes a helper) home message archive theme What I Do RPs I Like Face Claims Shout Outs Guides Rants Navigation Main RP Blog

Hello! I'm Devin, and I'm a roleplayer. Most of what I do here is dedicated to providing you with helpful tips for role playing, but I also do shoutouts, promos and reviews. Please feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions or need any help with anything!

Don't forget to check out my recommended roleplays! Devin’s Guide to Writing a Gay or Lesbian Character

Before I get started on this, I want to say that I’ve made the mistake of saying that playing a gay or lesbian character is the same as playing a straight character – You just swap their sexual preference. I see this advice a lot, reblogged or coming through in opinions or rants but I have to disagree at this point in my life.

Below the cut for mature content.

So that you know where I’m coming from, I’ve had a foot out the closet door since I was fifteen years old. I’m a polyromantic (loving more than one person) pansexual (no sexual preference based on sexual organs). In other words, I know what it’s like to be non-straight.

Earlier I wrote about what defines a character. If you’ll recall, this post mentions that there are two things that define your character: Her experiences and her motivations. I’m going to handle this guide by addressing how both experiences and motivations affect your LGBT character.*

Start out by considering that everything you do is driven by motivations, and that (as I’ve said), motivations are often fueled by experiences we either like or dislike.

I’m going to start with motivations, since in my earlier chicken and the egg problem, I’ve decided that all of life begins with motivations, from simple to complex.

Accurately playing a lesbian, gay or bisexual character begins with understanding that there are both basic and complex motivations associated with an individual’s sexuality.

Basic need for sexual pleasure (basic need)
Complex need for sexual fulfillment (complex need)

The basic need for sexual pleasure can be met with any sex regardless of the partner (or lack thereof). Most (but not all) human adults have a need for sexual pleasure. To my knowledge this is considered a basic human need.

The complex need for sexual fulfillment comes from one’s ability to enjoy the act of sex with their chosen partner or partners. Sexual fulfillment comes in many forms, but it is usually a loving or affirming act, and generally aids in the reduction of stress in all genders.

Generally speaking, sex can be considered a “need” for adults of all genders. My understanding of asexuality is somewhat confused, but as I understand it, asexuality doesn’t dismiss this need entirely, depending on the type of asexuality.

For this reason, sex can be a strong motivation for people of all genders. Presumably the higher the level of testosterone (yes, women produce it too!), the higher the sex drive. If a person’s testosterone levels begin to drop, they will experience decreased sexual drive.

What I’m saying here is that sexual motivation cannot be completely dismissed for anyone of any sexual preference or gender, and therefore it plays an important role in your role playing and should be addressed. This doesn’t have to mean that your character is groping every guy or girl who walks past, but it’s okay to take notice of an attractive person and to acknowledge sexual preference. Failure to acknowledge it at all is foolhardy regardless of the preference of your character.

In other words: Even if you’re playing a cisgendered heteroromantic heterosexual, acknowledge their preference.

What I’m saying here is that the heterosexual’s failure to mention their sexual preference doesn’t mean that the homosexual cannot mention theirs.

Hopefully by now you have a basic grasp of motivation. If not, please let me know and I will do another guide about forming motivation for your character (or, if I’ve already done it, I’ll send you a link to the guide I’ve already written).

Once you understand motivation, you need to consider experience. At this point, you have to make some choices. Ask yourself (or your muse) the following questions:

Is the character out of the closet?
If they’re out, what was their parents’ reaction like?
Do they have a romantic partner?
Have they experienced sex with the same gender/opposite gender?
How have they been treated by their peers?

These experiences will absolutely define your character. It’s up to you to determine what these experiences are. Not every homosexual or bisexual person is out of the closet. Some are still firmly locked away and unwilling to make their preference known (for good reasons, in some cases!). Some parents are very accepting, while others become very upset. Mine denied everything and refuse to believe that it’s true. Explore the full range of options and don’t just take the easiest route!

One of the most important things to remember is that bullying happens in schools and that LGBT kids get picked on a lot. As a LGBT individual, I feel that it affirms my past and my experience when I see others choose to explore this part of the experience through their role playing. Pick NPCs, maybe even give them a bit of development, and then use them to build your character’s high school experience. Do they have friends they’re close to who can help them through the worst times? Who did they come out to first? Did they have a boyfriend/girlfriend before coming out?

These are all important experiences in the life of a homosexual or bisexual teenager or adult. They need to be affirmed. These experiences define the way that your character interacts with people around them.

While I do agree that a homosexual or bisexual character is just a person like any other (with hobbies, interests, favorite things to do or people to spend time with), their experiences define who they are the same way that a straight, cisgendered person’s experiences define them. These things deserve to be taken into consideration when creating your character.

If you need any help building a character, I’m always here!

* Please note that as I am not trans* I can only speak vaguely about this issue and I invite any trans* individuals to reblog this and add their thoughts. I’ll reblog your additions!

Reblog - 12 years ago with 36 notes #rph #writing guide #writing lgbt #lgbt roleplay #rp guide