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SECTION: GENERIC RANTS RANT TOPIC: CHANGING SEXUALITIES WORD COUNT: 1004 WORDS
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THERE IS, nothing I find more sickening until I see multiple fics where LGBTQ+ characters are stripped away from their sexuality. I don't know why so many of you think it's okay to do this when there is already little representation of them in stories and media. We've slowly started to see these characters being added in the books we read and the movies we see. These are characters that connect with people on different levels for different reasons. So I'll never understand why people think it's okay to strip that part of their identity away from them.
Changing sexualities is not okay. It's a big red flag indicator. I don't understand how many writers on this app can think that they have the right to change someone's sexuality to straight or bisexual if they're gay or lesbian. And I know that they'll come to their defence and say "oh, well it's a fictional character I can do whatever I want." There was this one comment on this chapter where an account chose to state this:
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No shit they're fictional characters, I'm not fucking stupid. But let's imagine for one moment how you would feel if someone changed your sexuality to something else that you didn't identify as? It's a different perspective to look at, but wouldn't you be mad to have that part of your identity erased because someone else didn't like that or think it suited you? I know that fanfiction is all about creating new plots and stories, changing things for your liking. But I feel like there is a point where some people are stepping over that line.
Can we just normalize that not all characters are heterosexual?
Not everyone is attracted to the opposite sex, wake up. Get it through your heads. People like who they like, regardless of their race, their beliefs, their gender and so on. You have to understand that there are characters written to like who they like. And you can damn bet that some authors poured their hearts into those characters not expecting that there would be some people on this app who would even think it was okay to erase their sexuality.
For example, Nico Di Angelo is gay. We read how he has this crush on Percy and eventually comes out to Will Solace about his crush on him, with who he eventually gets into a relationship. Alec Lightwood is another example because he too comes out as gay and gets into a relationship with Magnus Bane. These two characters are just two examples of some of the LGTBQ+ characters that authors have in their stories. Hey, we have Alex Mercer from Julie and the Phantoms and don't you forget that too!
What I will never understand is why people feel the need to write stories where they pair these characters with female love interests when they are canonically gay.
Some people may just not care about the sexuality of a character but that's a part of what makes them who they are. We all relate to certain characters in certain aspects of their life and sexuality can be one of them. I don't know if it's just me personally that feels this is something troubling when you read or write fanfics, but if I wrote a novel that incorporated LGBTQ+ characters that I love dearly and finds out there are people that are making them heterosexual, I would be pretty upset.
Then there is the topic of other characters that haven't explicitly been stated what their sexuality is. Some examples of this can be Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or Clary Fray and many more. I previously stated my opinion about this but I have revisited this chapter and felt the need to change it up as I have further educated myself upon the matter. My views on this have changed drastically since I started writing this book and I can say that my opinion has changed from what I have written before.
In terms of characters such as Leo Valdez or Draco Malfoy (and so on), if the author hasn't explicitly stated what their sexuality is, I see no issue in writing them as the sexuality of your choice. Let's be real here, if you've been on Harry Potter TikTok long enough, you've come to realize that Cedric Diggory was Harry's bi awakening.
Of course, it would be different if the author said if the character was heterosexual, to which they could only be paired with characters of the opposite sex. In my opinion, I feel that if the author hasn't confirmed the character's sexuality and has let that open to the reader's imagination, it should be up to the writer of the fanfic to choose how love interests should be played out for the character they are writing a fanfic about.
But please remember, if the character has been confirmed to be a part of the LGTBQ+ community, that does not give you the right to change their sexuality and suddenly make them heterosexual. Maybe it's just my pet peeve but I will always have a hard time understanding why so many writers on this app feel the need to erase a character's sexuality for the benefit of their own story.
If you want to write an Alex Mercer fic, please don't pair him with a girl. You would not believe it but I know for a fact of one account (who previously asked me to make aesthetics for another book of theirs) who wrote an Alex Mercer x fem!OC where one of the quotes stated: "i'm gay but i'm only straight for you." Please don't do this. Instead of writing a messy story like this, write about him being paired with a male love interest instead!
Don't change the sexuality of a character for your own benefit. Instead, change your own character.
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TIP #4: STOP CHANGING LGBTQ+ CHARACTER'S SEXUALITIES
