Novel Progress: LGBTQIA+

Last week I described the changes I made so my novel could pass the Bechdel test. Making those changes got me thinking about LGBTQIA+ representation.

Prime Conditions is light science fiction, and the romantic angles were an afterthought for me, something I considered after dealing with the plot and seeing the characters interact. I'd learned a lot from my fanfiction writing, where original character Henry resisted my efforts to match him up with any of the women in the series. Once I realized Henry was gay, I embraced it and learned to be open to what my characters were telling me with regard to their orientation.

Among other things, Henry decided to make the leap from fanfiction to my novel, where he's once again a supporting character. So, is this futuristic Henry gay? What about my other characters?

As I pondered the world that I imagined centuries in the future, I decided that pansexual would be considered the norm. Therefore most of my characters are open to relationships with any gender. One character is specifically gay, preferring his romantic partners to be men.

Then I considered whether any of the characters were transexual. This time I imagined that children would be encouraged to build empathy by exploring what it's like to be another gender. My lead character Zach had decided that remaining male was right for him, while a cousin decided that she wanted to be female. Zach's aunt's spouse is non-binary (and I'm looking for a non-binary term to use in place of aunt or uncle), and a family friend's spouse likes to change pronouns about once a year, and is currently using she/her.

Currently none of the characters are specifically called out as asexual or aromantic. One of my characters, however, has been telling me recently that she's ace, and I'm keeping that in mind as I consider what will happen in the sequel.

I like the more diverse world that emerged in my rewrites. At the same time, I recognize that some of these changes take my characters beyond my range of experience. That's why I've found a sensitivity reader who can warn me if I'm doing anything cliched or hurtful. I want future readers to love my characters as much as I do, and not to encounter any harmful representation.

I'm about a month away from getting my sensitivity reader's first round of feedback, and I'm looking forward to learning what changes I should make.