Different Sexual Orientations in Fiction

This post is about different sexual orientations in fiction and how the topic of sexual orientation is represented in fiction.

I'm not going to be talking about people who are transgender or people who are genderfluid or anything like that. I do believe that representation of different gender identities is as important in fiction as representation of different sexual orientations, but I'm not going to be discussing gender identity in this post because I don't feel like I have the right to talk about this topic. This is partly because I identify as the gender I was born as and also because I do not know very much about gender identity.

Anyway, it is becoming more and more common for fiction (book, movies and TV shows) to include characters who are not straight. However, most of these characters who are not straight are gay men, and, slightly less often, lesbian women. Other sexual orientations are basically not shown at all.I'm going to list several different sexual orientations (or groups of sexual orientations) and some of my opinions on how they should be represented in fiction.

Gay Characters: There are actually many gay men in current fiction, which is great, but I've noticed that they often have similar personalities. They tend to be shown as stereotypically feminine. There is nothing wrong with gay men being stereotypically feminine, the problem is when all gay men are shown with the same personality. Gay men in fiction should have all different kinds of personalities, as should characters of all different sexual orientations. Gay men are also almost always white in fiction, which is obviously problematic. We need to see more queer people of colour.

Lesbian Characters: We definitely need to see more lesbian women in fiction. Often times, women are only present in fiction to be the love interest of the main male character. How about we put women into movies or books to be the love interest of the main female character? Also, we need to see more lesbian women of colour.

Bisexual/Pansexual Characters: There are significantly fewer bisexual characters than there are homosexual characters. I think this is because a lot of people think that you're either gay or straight. You can't be both. I've seen this stereotype so much in fiction and it bothers me to no end, especially because I am bisexual.

Asexual/Graysexual/Demisexual/Aromantic Characters: Asexuality (and all related sexual orientations) is not really shown in fiction at all. While I do not like this, I realize that it can be difficult to represent characters as being asexual. Of course, a character could just come right out and say they are asexual, but sometimes this just wouldn't work. If the character doesn't say they are asexual, it's pretty much impossible to know for sure that they are. If I hear about a male character in a relationship with another male character I think "Oh, he's gay (or bisexual)." If a character shows no interest in romance and/or sex I think "Oh, maybe they are asexual. Or maybe they are just not interested in romance and sex right now." I think that there need to be more characters in fiction who are not romantically or sexually involved with anyone. They don't necessarily have to say they are asexual. They just have to be not romantically or sexually involved with anyone. Seriously, romance is not necessary for a plot to function.

FINAL NOTE ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION: I am no expert in any of this stuff. I just feel really strongly that different sexual orientations should be represented in fiction, and I'll tell you why.

I am not straight and I only realized this recently. Part of the reason I never thought to question my sexual orientation was because I did not see many characters of different sexual orientations when I was younger. I did see a few queer characters in the books that I read, but they were so few and far between. I thought of queer people as somehow different, a group of people that I would never be part of. I wasn't exactly homophobic, I just didn't consider the fact that I myself might be part of the group of people who are not straight. Because of this, the lack of different sexual orientations in fiction is very personal for me. I want queer characters to be normal in fiction. I want queer people to be seen as regular people.

I am only fifteen and I have never dated anyone, nor do I plan to in the near future. I have been told that I can't know my sexual orientation at such a young age. While this statement annoys me, in my case, it is true. I am still not entirely sure what my sexual orientation is exactly. I think that I am somehow in the area between bisexual and asexual. For now I am calling myself asexual and biromantic. I don't believe I have ever been sexually attracted to anyone. I don't actually understand what this would mean. I do think that I understand romantic attraction better. I think that I have liked a few people romantically in the past (mostly girls). I have been told that I might be too young to be sexually attracted to people and that I might become less asexual over time. Maybe that is true. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Anyway, sexual orientation isn't really some clearly defined thing. Every individual person defines their own sexual orientation differently. Some people prefer not to define themselves at all. But I think that we should start seeing more fictional characters that are confident in their sexual orientation (whether that be homosexual or bisexual or asexual). I think that this might help real people understand themselves and other people.