Writing
Gay Men of Color
Sharita
Lira
Unfortunately
the media is filled with stereotypes. How people perceive men of any color is a
guy lacking emotion, rough, most of the time an alpha with a bad attitude. Then
there’s the gay man who is sometimes portrayed as overly girly, weak, and more
often than not, a sex addict. In the early 2000’s we were blessed with Queer as Folk, showing
beautiful gay men of all types, embracing their sexuality, dealing with the
same issues as straight couples trying to survive in the modern era. As
brilliant as QAF was, it was missing a key element. In my opinion, a gay man of
color who was also a main character would’ve added something to the show.
Some
time later, Noah’s Arc came along and
I believed it only lasted two seasons. From the couple of episodes I did see,
it portrayed gay men of color in a positive light. Seemingly, this series might
not have been interesting enough to keep running so it disappeared without a
trace.
What
about in fiction? These days we have a wealth of colorful gay characters in many
books. The question is how do we write them? Do we draw on the stereotypes?
Black and or Hispanic men who are angry and always intense; Asian men who seem
timid. Those are just a couple of examples. Do we need to add this to our books
for them to seem real? In my estimation they don’t. I often wondered why
authors, whether it be books, TV, and or movies can’t make a character,
especially a gay male character of color, who doesn’t fit that mold. Sure, you
can add to the setting to make it more “real”; a young black man from a poorer
neighborhood. Perhaps his family hates that he’s gay and his friends don’t accept
him. Yes that’s all the reality I need and let me say, not every black man
comes from a background like that. But with his attitude? Must he be overly
angry at the world and seething all the time? Well hell, he could be a goth
boy. That would make BL happy. *grins* Or could he be an intelligent scholar,
from a not so poor neighborhood. Perhaps he was the rich one and his white
counterpart the middle class working man. My favorite with that kind of plot
was Bonnie Dee’s
Undeniable Magnetism which I enjoyed thoroughly.
What’s
my point here? When I write a gay man of color, I try to avoid the stereotypes
unless it is a central part of the plot. I feel people should be written as
people, without pulling from the so called mold.
Regardless
of race or nationality or orientation, we’re all human with unique traits and
attitudes that make us stand out from others. Characters should be treated in
the same fashion.
My
two latest releases. One under BLMorticia, the other under Rawiya
Blurb: Bryant is still trying to convince his
lover how great the holidays could be but Nathan isn’t buying into the holiday
cheer. However, the Lieutenant has some tricks up his sleeve to show his
husband to be the true meaning of Christmas.
Blurb:
Denny
Brothers is upset about being alone. After spending it with the man he’d been
gushing over for years, he’s wishing for his sad existence to be change and
little does he know witch Shelba Marrisco already has plans in the works. Enter
Paul Alexander, a charming and sexy package handler with a special after
Christmas gift they both can enjoy for the rest of their lives but in order to
have a chance, Denny has to let go of his beloved chocolate lab, Preston, in
exchange for everlasting love.
Author
Sharita Lira: In
one word, crazy. Just crazy enough to have 3 different muses running around in
her head, driving her to sheer exhaustion with new plot bunnies and complex
characters.
This
happily married mother of two beautiful children loves music, computers,
reading, and still enjoys reading and writing fanfiction. She’s a proud member
of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for
rights of LGBT citizens. She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal
ezine Fourteeng.net.
For
more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The
Literary Triad.
The
Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael
Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
Rawiya
- http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
TriadPromo
– http://triadliteraryworks.blogspot.com/
AuthorGraph – http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/rawiyamikembl
Thanks so much for having me Lisa! <3
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